To Defeat the Rotting Labyrinth
by Devabbi
Summary: Sarah is called back to the Labyrinth and finds it in ruins. She must defeat the blackened and rotting Labyrinth on her own, find Jareth, and save him before everyone Underground dies. J/S - ON HIATUS.
1. Displacement

My first Labyrinth fic, but not my first fanfic. I've been trying to write my own original stuff, but I keep getting bit by the fanfic bug, and this was the result. I've got three and a half chapters written in two hours. This one promises to be long... It's interrupting my original stuff! Damn it! It's no help that I've been bit by the Inuyasha bug again, that's not going to bode well with my writing schedule. I'm juggling two fics - an epic fantasy adventure novel, a romantic angst novel, and now this fanfiction. I hope I don't get any ideas for Inuyasha, or any other fandom that I know I'm going to wind up involved in... Fawk.

Go check me out on , as Devabbi. I've got a couple good things on there. I'm on deviantART by the same name.

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth. Jim Henson does, technically... I'm sure David Bowie's got a share of it too. This will be my only disclaimer, but it applies to all chapters. I'm not making any money off of this anyways, so I don't really see the point of disclaimers. I know I'm not going to remember to put one in every single chapter either, so consider this my umbrella.

* * *

Sarah let out a sigh as she placed the last book back on the shelf, and turned around to look at her room. Instinctively, she stared at the window, to be sure that there was no one and no thing behind the glass panes. Ten years had gone by since that day that she met Jareth and explored the Labyrinth in the Underground. She shivered as she thought of her experience. Toby didn't remember, and every day, she thanked the Goblin King for allowing that much. He was nearly eleven now, and inching his way into puberty in the way that most shy little boys do. Three years after the venture into the Labyrinth, Karen had gotten pregnant again. She had a little girl, and Sarah was sure to treat little Sylvie with all the kindness of her heart. Her behavior towards Toby had changed when he was still very young, so he never remembered her cruelty to him. She began to think of her trip through the Labyrinth as a gift, something to teach her to be kind to her siblings, to cherish and teach them, and pull her head out of her fantasies often enough to give them some recognition and encouragement. She was teaching Sylvie how to ride a bicycle now, and she was almost ready to take off the training wheels.

Six years after the venture into the Labyrinth, Sarah had gotten married. She married a nice boy named Bryan, nothing like Jareth. He didn't even look like him. He had darkly tanned skin from working hard under the sun, as he was a construction worker. He didn't have anywhere near as much wit or cunning as Jareth did. He had dark hair and stunning honey eyes, and was thick and muscled rather than lithe like Jareth. She found herself constantly comparing him to the Goblin King, and as much as she hated to do so, she knew she had to in order to distance herself from the entire situation. While she could distance herself all she wanted from Jareth himself, she could not distance herself from her love of fantasy and storytelling. She had become a writer.

About a year before, Bryan began to argue with her about money. She had signed with a small-time publisher and wrote stories of all kinds of criminals, wrong-doers, and naughty children going through Jareth's Labyrinth for something important to them, and each one learned a different lesson. Her books became steadily more popular, and slowly, she began to make more money than he did in the construction business. Rather than try to work it out, go to counseling, or try to compromise, Bryan filed for a divorce. While Sarah was heartbroken that she couldn't keep a marriage together, she wasn't too heartbroken at losing Bryan. She had never really loved him. He was gorgeous, a provider, and a great catch. He was a good man. She just wasn't in love with him.

A few days ago, as she had finally moved out and back in with her father and stepmother, Bryan and she had said their civil goodbyes at the front door of the small house that they had bought together three years prior. She smiled at him, and admitted that she had never really been in love with him. She complimented him, saying that there was nothing wrong with him, she just couldn't love him. He said he knew.

And so here she was, unpacking her things into the basement. Sylvie had been given her old room when she married Bryan and moved out of the house. She didn't mind the basement. It was renovated to look like a regular room, with just less lighting. There were windows all along the edge of the ceiling, each one maybe eight inches high. She had to deal with the water heater and the water and gas pipes, but none of them made too much noise. She had good lighting and good furniture, carpet and light lavender paint. She, Toby, Sylvie, and Karen had worked on it for three days to make it into a passable bedroom. She pulled the box apart and folded it so that it lay flat, and tucked it behind the sofa. She flopped onto it tiredly, and surveyed her new bedroom silently.

Taking a deep breath, she sought out the universal remote and turned on the television that sat on top of a wide book shelf that held a fraction of her library. She had one corner of the basement devoted to only books, her own miniature library that lined against one wall for ten feet, and had another front-and-back shelf structure full of books, making a little library nook. She loved to read and couldn't help it. She peered at the news on the television, and frowned. She flipped through the cable channels to be sure that it worked and then turned it off.

Getting to her feet, she walked along the row of books, drawing a finger along the titles until she came across one that was foreign and familiar at the same time. Her eyes narrowed at the worn-out, leather-bound book. "I didn't put you on this shelf," she said flatly, and removed the offending item. She peered at it, and opened it to the page that the ribbon marked. She read a few lines, _I move the stars for no one... Your eyes can be so cruel,_ before snapping it shut decidedly. She carried it to her desk, and placed it in the very back of the file drawer. "Get out of there, if you can," she said haughtily, and turned towards the stairs.

The book had always given her trouble since she left the Labyrinth. She had tried to throw it away, only to find it beneath her pillow the next morning. She had shredded each and every page at a friend's house, only to find it, intact, beneath her pillow the next morning. She had torn it to pieces and thrown the pieces into different trash cans along her street on the collection day, only to find it beneath her pillow the next morning. She had burned it, thrown it into the ocean, lost it in an amusement park, let Merlin bury it, donated it to a public library, sold it in a yard sale – every possible thing that she could think of! And still, every time, she would find the book beneath her pillow the next morning.

After three months of that, she had given up, and just set it on her book shelf. She had tried one last time to get rid of it, and had left it at Bryan's house. Now it was on her shelf, because she did not yet have a bed here, she supposed. She stopped on her way up the stairs into the kitchen, and pondered that. No matter how many different ways she had tried to rid herself of the book, it had always reappeared beneath her pillow. She chewed on her lip. "Maybe Toby put it there," she offered herself. "Or Sylvie or Karen..." She continued up the stairs, and pushed the matter out of her mind altogether.

That afternoon, she and her father went to a furniture shop and bought her a bed that would fit in the already stuffed basement. The room was large, but her miniature library took up a lot of room, as did her workspace. She decided on a loft bed, to be placed above her sofa. They spent the rest of the evening setting up the bed. Karen brought down sheets that looked like the night sky, "Sorry, Sarah. We'll get you something that matches your paint in a few days, but these are all we have. They were Toby's."

Sarah smiled at her, and accepted them. They reminded her of Jareth's starry cloak, but she ignored it and pretended that I reminded her of Van Gogh's Starry Night instead. She set up her bed, including three cozy pillows, a comforter and an extra blanket, and climbed down to survey her work. "Still a little bare," she murmured, gazing around. She didn't have very many trinkets, knick-knacks, or other collectible things. She had left Bryan with most of everything. Remembering that, she smacked her forehead, remembering that she had left her music box. She frowned, thinking about if she really wanted it back. She had always kept it because it had been a gift from her mother, but...

"Screw it," she murmured, and sat down on her couch again.

The book lay on one of the throw pillows, looking innocent as it could be. She stared at it, and her eyes narrowed. "None of your games, Jareth," she said decidedly, and picked up the book. "I'll burn it again. I know it hurt you." She had seen that in her dreams. She didn't wish him any pain, but she did wish for him to leave her alone. She never uttered those two words though, she was very careful not to, knowing the power that her words had over the Goblin King. She knew he was probably listening at that moment. She placed the book on the top-most shelf of the miniature library, in the corner, and went back to her sofa.

As she sat down, she felt a lump beneath her. She knew what it was before she lifted herself to the side to retrieve it. She glared at the book. "What do you want me to do?" she demanded of nothing.

"Sarah?"

She jumped and looked at the stairs. She smiled and relaxed to see Toby, and put the book down on her coffee table. "Hey Toby," she greeted. He was holding something behind his back. "What have you got there?"

He fiddled with something, and chewed on his lip. "Well..." He showed her Lancelot, and picked at the bear's button eye for a moment. "I heard you say that your room was bare, so I thought maybe you'd like Lancelot back now. I'm getting too old for stuffed animals anyways." He held the bear out to her, not looking at it or her.

Sarah clucked her tongue. "Too old for stuffed animals?" she echoed, and accepted the bear. She ran her hands over the worn fur of the bear. Lancelot had been Toby's hip attachment for many years, and had gone through many things with him. She knew how much he meant to Toby, regardless of what he said. "Nonsense. You do realize that I'm 25, and you're giving him to me?" she said coyly.

He sighed and sat heavily on her sofa. "Well, you're a girl. That's different."

"I suppose... Why not give him to Sylvie?" she offered.

Toby gave her a flat look that only children can accomplish, the '_are you kidding me_?' sort of look that doesn't quite fit their countenances. "She'd ruin him in a day... Besides, she's already got enough dolls and stuffed animals and toys..."

She lifted her eyebrows. "Do I hear a bit of jealousy, Toby?" she teased.

"No!" he protested. She had always stressed the importance of being an older sibling, he didn't want to disappoint her. "It's just... I think he... _it _would be safer with you." His voice grew softer as he went, almost breaking as he said _it_.

It broke Sarah's heart to hear those words coming from him. He sounded so grown-up and so mature, especially for an almost-eleven-year-old. She hugged him all of a sudden, Lancelot still in one hand, and pressed him to her. "You will never be too old for anything that you enjoy," she told him sternly, and pushed him to arm's length to look at him seriously. "Everyone said I was too old for fairy tales, but I stayed with it, and look where it got me. Now I'm a big-shot writer with lots of money... Maybe if you keep Lancelot, you'll become a famous bear trainer. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

His look was skeptical. He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess," he said after awhile.

She sighed. It was no use. He had his father's practicality, with no sense of nonsense or silliness like Sarah had. Sylvie was somewhere in-between. She loved to play dress-up and act out scenes with her dolls with Sarah, but she was far more interested in her budding sports career than that these days.

Sarah hugged her brother again, giving him a tight squeeze. "Don't grow up too fast, kiddo," she encouraged him. "You'll miss these days when you don't have to worry about too much." She let him go, and gave him a nudge towards the door.

He got to his feet, and turned towards her. "Mom says dinner will be ready soon. Are you gonna eat with us?" The subject had changed quickly away from his growing up. He didn't like talking about it either.

"Sure," she said, and nodded her head.

Toby turned to leave, but then paused, looking at the book. Sarah's eyes darted towards it and prayed he wouldn't ask about it. He picked it up from the table and turned it over, and frowned. "I've never seen this book before," he said softly. He looked up at Sarah. "Where'd you get it? It looks old."

She smiled at him, and leaned forward to retrieve it. "I borrowed it from a friend. She said that I'd like it." She took the book from his hands, and tossed it on top of the nearest book shelf. "Don't worry about it." She smiled at him reassuringly, hoping that he would just take her words at face-value like an ignorant ten-year-old should.

He gave her a long, suspicious look, as if he knew she was lying, but accepted her story. "See you in a few," he said, and took the stairs two at a time, coming out into the kitchen and asking if his mother if she wanted any help.

Sarah let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She picked up the book and scowled at it. "You will not touch him again, Jareth," she whispered harshly at the red cover. "You will not."

* * *

Review!


	2. Taken

I love how different fanficnet and ficpress are. They're sister sites, with very much the same format, but different content and VERY different readers. My most popular story on ficpress, Recovery, has been up for just a little over a month and a half, and has seven reviews, 3,412 hits in that time. For ficpress, that's not bad at all. However, I published this story on last night, and it's already got 41 hits and two reviews. The review-hit ratio is generally a lot higher on fanficnet. More reader loyalty, more reader opinion... I love fanficnet. :) I missed you guys.

In light of my joy of seeing two reviews in my inbox when I got home today (_thank you, aysuh and ginabella49_), here's another chapter. Don't count on this updating schedule continuing for too long. While I do have a lot of ideas and motivation with this fic, I'm a huge procrastinator, and worse, I'm a busy procrastinator that has very little writing time to herself, and what I write with that time largely depends on my mood. I have maybe six-ish chapters written right now as a buffer, but all you guys can do is hope that I'll continue to keep writing in class when I **should **be doing my work. (_I'm a senior in high school, in my last eight weeks, and my grades are bad... so I really shouldn't be writing in class_).

Hoggle and Ludo will make appearances shortly.

* * *

After dinner, Sarah settled into her cozy desk chair with her laptop computer open and ready for some heavy-duty, nitty-gritty writing. She rolled over to the coffee table to retrieve the glass of juice she had placed there earlier, and rolled back. The book was sitting on her keyboard. She set the glass down and made a sound of frustration. She picked it up and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a neat little thump, and landed on the floor with a flapping noise. She huffed at it, and turned around towards her computer again.

It, again, lay on the keyboard. She sighed and stared at the book. "Alright, Jareth," she murmured. "I'll bite." She picked up the book, closed her laptop, and opened it. She perused the lines that she knew so well, reading most of them over again. She skipped some pages, skimming through most of it. In just a half an hour, she came to the end. She skimmed over it, hummed at her wasted time, as nothing was different, and was about to close it when something caught her eye.

At the end, there was an entirely new page. She turned the page, and stared. The final page was titled "Epilogue" and it was written in red ink. It looked fresher, newer than the regular print only a few pages before, and she flipped backward to check. In shock, she read the new inscription.

"Dearest Sarah, I hope my efforts have not been in vain and that this reaches you in time. I apologize for the book's insistence in advance, but it is of utmost importance that you return to the Labyrinth. We need your help. The Labyrinth as gone into disarray, and everything is decaying around here. We can't tell why, because we don't know. Jareth has g -"

For a long while, Sarah stared at the red ink. It was not signed. It stopped after the g. She read it again, hoping that maybe more print would show up if she read it over and gave it time. It still stopped after the g. It was still not signed. She blinked at it, and sat up, closing the book. "Jareth has what?" she murmured. She looked up at her window, expecting to see a handsome barn owl. Instead, there was nothing. Not even a dark shadow of a goblin crossing against the windows. It, for some reason, made her uneasy.

How long had it been since she had seen Jareth in his owl form? Weeks, months? ...Years? It had become such a regular thing to see the owl that she had stopped noticing when he did show up at all. It had become so old-hat that she didn't notice when it didn't happen at all. She sat back in her chair, and her mouth ran dry. There was something wrong. She immediately got to her feet, and started for the door. She stopped with one hand on the banister.

"What are you going to do, Sarah?" she mumbled to herself. "Go back and find out what's wrong? Find who sent that and figure it out?" She stopped, and put both feet on one step. She looked back at the little red book. "Or... See this for what it is. Jareth wants me back in the Labyrinth just so he can capture me again." She sat down hard on the sofa. "I won't fall for it. I will not." She picked up the universal remote again, and resolutely turned on the television, ignoring the book on her desk. She tried to shake the feeling of wrong and concern that stemmed out from her belly, but there was nothing for it. There was something wrong.

She went upstairs. There must have been something wrong upstairs. She did find something wrong. There was a terrible commotion. She was immediately aware that Karen was crying, and that Toby was clinging to Robert's leg with a vice-like grip. She stood in the doorway, not sure what to do. There were policemen in the kitchen, and a sheriff in the living room with her father. She looked at Karen again and said softly, "Karen?"

Karen sobbed. "Oh, Sarah," she choked out. "Sylvie's gone."

Sarah stared at Karen for a few moments. She moved forward and hugged her stepmother. "Everything will be fine, Karen," she reassured the older woman. "The police will find her." Inside, a burning anger was bubbling to the surface. That rat had her little sister this time, her innocent six-year-old sister that was perfectly able to remember everything, and she had done nothing wrong this time. She had not wished her away. She had not wished for anything.

The police left some hours later, and Sarah returned to her room. She grabbed an old back pack and stuffed it full of various supplies – a flashlight, extra clothing, a jacket, an umbrella, other odd necessities that she thought she might need. The last time she had gone into the Labyrinth, she had gone wholly unprepared. She would not make the same mistake twice. She went upstairs into the kitchen to bring some food. She took some snack foods, a water bottle, and a loaf of bread. She could hear Karen weeping upstairs. "I'll bring her back, Karen," she whispered.

With the back pack full, she picked up the book again, and clenched it in her grip. "I wish I were at the gates of the Labyrinth in the Underground," she said sharply, closing her eyes. As she opened them, she was there. At least, she thought she was there. She dropped her back pack and the book. "Oh, my God. What happened here?"

The gates the Labyrinth, previously small, smooth, and made of a reddish clay, were now tall, black, and covered in carvings of chimeras, griffins, and other various vicious-looking creatures that Sarah could not name or place. She approached them carefully. They writhed against one another, and a few of them caught sight of her and screeched. She took several steps back, and almost tripped over her own things. She looked down, and then around. It should have been a windswept hill, but it was now a sandy desert full of harsh, thick-grained red sand that could almost be gravel. There was no outside garden anymore, no Hoggle spraying down faeries with his nozzle. The pond that she had caught Hoggle relieving himself in last time was now a barren hole filled with dust and mold.

Sarah swallowed thickly. Something had gone terribly wrong in the Labyrinth. She gazed upward at the castle in the center of the Goblin City, and found that it too had changed. The spires had grown and reached into the clouds, black and twisted like cruel claws scratching at the sky. It looked far more intimidating than it had been when she was fifteen. She took a deep breath, and whispered the name, "Hoggle."

* * *

As an extra note, I'm not entirely happy with the title of the fic. In all honesty, "To Defeat the Rotting Labyrinth" was something that I came up with off of the top of my head, means nothing to the story aside from the fact that Sarah has to defeat the rotting labyrinth, and I only used it because it sounded cooler than the other few ones I came up with at 12:30 AM. **Any ideas for a new title are welcomed with open arms**. In the mean time, don't be too alarmed if the story's title changes.


	3. Mutations

Hoggle came out of nowhere, appearing behind her out of thin air. He gasped, and Sarah turned around quickly. "Hoggle!" she exclaimed excitedly, and advanced on him. She stopped in her tracks as she got a good look at him though.

He looked old. He carried a cane, and had more wrinkles and lines than he did when she first met him. He didn't have hair anymore, save for a friar's bowl around the top of his skull, saved in thin wisps. Her eyes turned sad. "How long have I been gone, Hoggle?" she asked softly. She understood that there was a difference in the passage of time between the Labyrinth and her world, but she didn't know how much.

Instead of answering, he stared at her. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, and offered a prayer to anything that took mercy on him. Her question processed, and he coughed. "A hundred years, give or take a few," he replied gruffly, and shuffled forward to greet her properly. "Come, Sarah, give an old dwarf a hug." Sarah knelt and hugged Hoggle carefully, not sure on how fragile he was in his age. She stood back up, and he smiled, observing her and nodding his head up and down. "Yes, yes, you've grown. You're a woman now. I'm proud."

Sarah smiled at him, but remembered her reason for being here. She turned and looked at the castle. "Hoggle, what's wrong here? What happened?" She turned back to him, her eyes concerned and worried.

Hoggle replied uneasily, sitting down on the edge of the decrepit pool. "The King has not been himself lately... has not been himself for a very long time, I should say."

"What's wrong with Ja-"

"_Don't say his name_!" he warned.

She scowled. "What's wrong with _him_, then?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

He glanced around nervously, expecting the Goblin King or someone else to come out raging. He whispered quickly, "The Labyrinth is connected to his life force. You see how it has changed, rotted, blackened... We think he's dying."

Sarah looked up at the far away castle, and slowly nodded. "Good," she said assuredly.

"Not good!" he snapped. "If he dies, we all die. All the goblins, the creatures, the entire kingdom – me, Ludo, and Didymus too."

She blinked at Hoggle, and frowned. She crossed her arms. "So who sent me the note?" she asked and frowned at him. "Who took Sylvie?" she demanded.

Hoggle blinked at her. "Didymus is the only one who knew the magic right enough to send that to you. You have no idea what we went through to get just that much down. He caught us, that's why it's cut off. We had to write it while the spell was going on. He knows every piece of magic that goes on here." He wrung his leathered hands, and looked around again suspiciously. "Damn, Sarah, we sent that forty years ago..."

"And Sylvie?" she prompted, tapping her foot.

He looked at her again. "I don't know," he said truthfully. "I had no hand in it. I wouldn't do that to you. I doubt that the King had anything to do with it, he hasn't taken new children in a long time, since before the kingdom began to rot... The castle's been closed for just as long. We can't get inside anymore. No one's seen him in years."

Sarah turned around and looked at the gates. They were black, larger and more intimidating than she remembered. She stared at them for what seemed like a long time. "Do you know if he's still alive at all, Hoggle?" she asked, her voice distant.

He shrugged his old shoulders. "I don't know. We like to think so, or else we think we'd all be dead now. Like I said, the castle's been closed for a long time. Nobody's seen him."

"What can I do to help?" she asked, and looked down at him. She corrected herself, "Is there anything I can do?" Her face was mournful.

His eyes were sad, but hopeful. "Find him. Get into his castle. Find him, see what's wrong. None of us have the power that you do, the power over him. Maybe he'll talk to you." He shifted his weight, and removed a map from his jacket, and handed it to her. She looked at it curiously. It was a plain piece of parchment with a diagram of the front of the Labyrinth, with two black, labeled dots that read Hoggle and Sarah. "This should help, but everything is worse in there."

Alarmed, she turned back to him. "What? You're not coming with me?" She felt more scared than she had been a few moments ago.

Hoggle backed away a few steps and held up his hands. "He can't know you're here. If I disappear for a few days, he'll know."

She advanced on him. "So then whisk me up to the Goblin City, don't make me do this alone!"

"I can't," he said apologetically, his face twisting. "Any magic done to, for, or by you, and he'll know. You have to hoof it. The Labyrinth has turned blacker, yes, but there are still some inside who would help you." He put a hand on the map and pulled her down to his eye level, ignoring the tears in her eyes as he explained the map. "The black dots mean you no harm. Red dots mean trouble, avoid them if you can. If you can't, use this," he said, and handed her a club that had been hanging at his hip. "Whatever you do, never say the King's name. If you need help, try calling for me. I might be able to get away for a few minutes." He looked around nervously again, and he started to walk away. "Good luck, Sarah." And then, he was gone.

Sarah looked up at the big, black gates. She took a deep breath, and approached them.


	4. Dawn

The gates squealed and scraped as they opened, the vicious creatures carved on them swiping and yowling at her as she passed them by. Sarah only had to kick the door once, trying not to hit any creature carved into the gate. She walked through the gates, and it got darker and colder. She was glad she had worn one jacket. If it were any colder, it might snow, and she would need that extra jacket in her bag. She hefted it over her shoulder.

She looked left and right. Both passages looked exactly the same; long, maybe endless, with no curves or turns that she could see. She looked down at her map again, and it assured her that there were dozens of openings. She just couldn't see them. The Labyrinth was full of optical illusions, she just had to remember that and rely on the map that Hoggle gave her.

The Labyrinth was also full of traps. She began to say, "I wish..." but ended her sentence there. She hadn't wished for anything in a long time, because Jareth would grant her anything and twist it wickedly. Besides, if she wished for anything, Jareth would hear it and know where she was. She frowned and hissed at the paper, "Why don't you show where traps are?"

The diagram's ink swirled and reassembled, slightly different. It added another character into the Legend in the corner, an x, labeled traps. She blinked at it. "Thank you." The top of the map swirled and reformed to say **_YOU'RE WELCOME_.** She smiled at it. So, she did have a companion.

She jumped as the gates behind her scraped and squealed closed. She pressed her back against the wall and studied the map. Following the path to her right, she found many openings and many traps. That was the way she had gone last time. "Maybe the worm will still be there," she mused, and started that way.

Now that she wasn't on a time frame to save Toby, she could take her time. She could explore and see the sights. She looked around at her bleak surroundings. "Not like there's much to see..." Resolute, she shook herself and picked up her pace. "Maybe on the way out."

As she walked, she often checked her position on the map. Within minutes, she was in front of an opening. She stopped and looked closely. "This way?" she murmured down at the map.

**_I WOULDN'T GO THAT WAY IF I WERE YOU_**, it replied, and, frowning, she sensed some sarcasm.

She frowned at it, and said, "Okay..." and moved away from the opening. "Which way _should_ I go?" It didn't respond right away, hesitating and swirling. "Show me, please," she pleaded. "I have to get through this and save my friends."

The top of the map swirled more violently before stopping. **_THERE ARE MANY WAYS THROUGH THE LABYRINTH. WHICH WAY WOULD YOU PREFER?_**

Sarah hesitated and thought carefully. Finally, she said, "The safest, fastest path, please."

The entire map swirled, and now there was a red line across the map. She was on one end of it and the castle was at the other. "How long will that take?" she pressed curiously.

**_DEPENDS ON YOUR PACING. FOUR DAYS AT THE MOST, THREE IF YOU'RE QUICK._**

She mulled that over. "I can do that," she said, and smiled. "Could you show me where I can find more fresh and clean water?"

**_CAREFUL, SARAH. I CAN ONLY SHOW A FEW MODIFICATIONS. YOU CAN SEE TRAPS AND KNOW THE WAY. I CAN TELL YOU THAT THERE IS WATER ALONG THE WAY. DO YOU REALLY WANT ME TO SHOW YOU?_**

Sarah shook her head, taking that as a warning that she had a limited number. "I'll save the modifications for an emergency," she decided.

**_SMART._**

Sarah walked on.

As she checked her watch for the first time, she noticed that the hands on the face of her watch had barely moved. She blinked at it in confusion, and then questioned the map, which had slowly become like a guide to her. It answered most of her questions with straight answers and information.

This time, it answered without her asking. **_TIME GOES DIFFERENTLY HERE. IN YOUR WORLD, YOU HAVE BEEN GONE ONLY A FEW MINUTES. YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE LABYRINTH FOR FOUR HOURS._** It swirled again, as if thinking, for a long moment. She waited. **_YOU SHOULD REST. YOU WILL BE SAFE HERE_.**

She looked around at the area. It looked familiar, and she slowly realized that it was the same place where she and Hoggle had encountered the wise man with the bird for a hat. Instead of flowers and plants, there were wicked-looking thorn bushes, rosebushes without blossoms, and dead white trees. She frowned and found a comfortable, hidden corner of dirt. She went through her bag and found a granola bar. The map lay in her lap. She inspected it for red dots, and found none nearby. She tried to make herself comfortable. "It's awfully lonely out here," she mourned.

**_IT'S ONLY A FEW DAYS_**. Sarah wasn't sure if she was supposed to be comforted by that.

She frowned. "I'm going to try to get some sleep," she said, and tucked the wrapper of the granola bar into her pocket. She closed her eyes and didn't see the map's next quip.

**_I HOPE YOU'RE A LIGHT SLEEPER_.**


	5. Discouraging

Sarah woke up with a start, and looked down at the map. It was glinting and sparkling in efforts to get her attention. **_BE QUIET_** it said. She held her breath as she found her place and saw a bright red dot only a small space away. She looked around for it, and leaned forward out of her nook to look further around. The map glinted too brightly, impairing her vision and preventing her from seeing very far.

She found her backpack nearby, and retrieved her club and the flashlight from her bag. The map still glinted. It said, **_IT'S A GIANT. HE CAN'T SEE WELL. YOU CAN SNEAK PAST HIM, JUST DO NOT GET CAUGHT BY HIM_**. She looked at the flashlight, and shone it along the ground, and saw two big, hairy feet maybe twenty feet away. The red line on the map told her to go to her direct right. She wetted her lips, and slowly got her backpack on. She turned off the flashlight. For a moment, she stared at the dark creature that couldn't see her, allowing her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. She rolled the map up and tucked it down her shirt. Slowly, when she could see, she began to crawl towards the area's exit that was marked on the map. Stopping near the archway, she checked the map to be sure it was the right way to go before continuing.

Once she decided that she had gone far enough to be safe, she got to her feet and checked the map. She was on track and rested. She fished out another snack and some water, then took out the flashlight again to watch where she was going. She followed along the map's red trail for what felt like hours. Finally, the damp Underground sun began to rise. She put away the flashlight and hoped that the batteries wouldn't wear out. Diligently, she walked on.

As she passed the opening to another area, she heard a splash and a wet, loud slapping sound. She stopped in her steps and looked down at the map. There was a red dot. "What is it?" she whispered.

**_A REALLY LARGE FISH. IT'S IN FRESH WATER._**

Sarah swallowed, and looked at her almost-empty water bottle. She sighed. "Does it have teeth?" she asked, staring mournfully at her empty water bottle.

**_NO, BUT IT COULD SWALLOW YOU WHOLE._**

She scowled at the map. "Very encouraging," she murmured. It didn't reply. She went into the area, and dropped her bag and the map near the entrance. She held the water bottle and her club, and crouched near the water. It was silent, just a pit full of water. She plunged the bottle into the water with one hand, the club ready in the other and shifted her feet for balance, watching the water. The bottle was full, and she moved back quickly, replacing the cap. Behind her, the map flashed.

The fish lunged out of the dark water, twice her height and many more times her width. It was a deep red color and it growled at her, shuffling forward fast. Sarah screamed and threw the club and bottle in the bag, grabbing it and the map and running. A crash behind her made her stop and turn around. The creature was stuck in the door, wailing angrily. She stopped, returning the club to her accessible jacket pocket and closed the backpack. She looked at the map. There were an alarming amount of red dots moving towards the fish's wail.

"Show me somewhere to hide!" Sarah pleaded with the map. It showed her a passage directly across from her, with an easy-to-climb-into cubbyhole in a wall. She ran to it, finding the hole not much larger than the size of a kitchen cupboard. She threw her bag into the hole first before she crawled inside. She looked at the map again for help or a tip. It was silent, showing the swarm of creatures near the fish. A number of them were still coming.

Shaking in fear, Sarah watched as several creatures passed right by her hiding place. Each one was dark, with sharp fangs. Some had claws or horns. Some had spikes. Some had wings, hooves, talons, weapons, red eyes, or evil grins. All of them were frightening. And then, Ludo passed by.

"Ludo!" she cried at the familiar face, and clapped her hands over her mouth, as every creature now knew exactly where she was. A hideous black face appeared first, reaching with long, clawed fingers towards her. She clung to her bag and screamed, "Ludo!"

The black thing was tossed away and a large, furry hand extracted her from the cubbyhole. Ludo wrapped one arm around her, carrying her against him. The other creatures protested and advanced, but ran back as he swiped a huge hand at them and roared. "Mine!" he growled. "Ludo got first – mine!"

Deciding that she wasn't worth dying for, the creatures retreated. Ludo carried her away from the red trail on her map, even when she struggled and protested.

"Ludo," she argued, "this isn't the way I need to go!" He dumped her unceremoniously into a new area after a time. It looked less scary than most of the Labyrinth, homey even. She clutched at her bag and her wrinkled map as he lumbered further into the area. He came back with a stone bowl full of soup that smelled more than decent. She realized how hungry she was and how little she had eaten. She thanked Ludo and he lumbered away again.

Before she ate it, she smoothed the map against her thigh. She was far off from her original red path, but she noticed that Ludo was a labeled black dot rather than red. She smiled and picked up the bowl, greedily drinking the broth until she got to the vegetables. She inspected them, and glanced at the map. "I'm not going to wake up in a junkyard again, am I?" she whispered to it.

**_NO_**, the map said. **_NO ONE KNOWS THAT HE'S STILL HERE. HE MIGHT HELP YOU._**

Sarah happily ate the vegetables in the soup, wondering where he had gotten them. The Labyrinth didn't look like it was very fertile. She sat quietly and looked around.

The area was a renovated dead end. There was a big stone cottage at one end, a small creek running through a group of dead trees, and dark soil with ankle-high dead grass. It looked like a farm. The area was quiet for a long time, and it made Sarah nervous. "Ludo?" she called, and got to her feet. "Ludo, it's me, it's Sarah!"

Ludo moved out from behind a rock near the creek, a really large one that she hadn't paid much attention to. She stopped and looked at him. He looked at her. "Sarah friend?" he asked, looking concerned.

Sarah nodded. "Yes, Ludo, I'm still your friend," she assured him, and approached again. He recoiled, and stepped into a patch of the damp sunlight that filtered through the dead trees. She stared at him. He had obviously stayed in the Labyrinth for a long while. He had many scars, and his fur was thinner, his eyes drawn, his jowls droopier. His left ear was missing a large chunk from it, appearing as though it had been chewed off rather than cut because of the jagged edge. He favored one leg over the other, limping slightly from an old, wrongly-healed injury. Her heart sank as she saw his condition. She walked towards him slowly, and he still backed away. She frowned. "Ludo, will you come with me? Help me finish the Labyrinth? I have to get to the castle again."

The lumbering giant frowned. "Why?"

"Haven't you noticed the Labyrinth's decay, Ludo? I have to get to the middle to make sure that Ja – the King doesn't die. If he dies, you all do, everything in the Underground." She frowned, and took a step closer. He took a step away. "Please, Ludo, I need help. I can't do this alone," she pleaded, putting on her best baby face.

He swayed back and forth, grunting and groaning in thought as he tossed his head with his movements. Finally, he nodded his great head and she gave him a dazzling smile. "We've got to keep going, Ludo. It'll be a piece of cake with you around," she declared.

Turning around, she looked for her things. She picked up her backpack, and reached out a hand for the map. It moved away from her hand. She heard a cackle and stopped, frowning. "Map..." she began, and stared at it.

_**I DON'T MOVE ON MY OWN, **_it flashed._** BROWNIES.**_

She stopped. Brownies? Chocolate? It had been awhile since she thought hard about mythical creatures like that. And then she remembered. Brownies, an off-shoot of imps who liked to help their masters in exchange for gifts. Sarah was not this set of brownies' master, as was obvious. They were probably helping someone else against her. "Damn it!" Sarah cursed, and chased after the map. It scuttled away, and she could see two tiny pairs of feet carrying it above their heads. Two voices were laughing like mad, though they seemed far away, or quiet. She ran after it, making a leap towards it, but to no avail. The map and the brownies disappeared into a hole in the trunk of a dead tree. She kicked at the tree, but nothing responded. Frustrated and angry, she yelled out towards the castle, just visible through the dead trees, "Damn you! Damn you, you conceited, self-centered, demanding son of a bitch! You can't just make it easy for me, can you?"

_Don't say his name!_ Hoggle's voice echoed through her head. She deflated, defeated, and had no clue which way she should go. The map was her one lifeline. She really doubted that Ludo would know how to get to the castle. Maybe she could call Hoggle and get another one, or she could find the Bog of Eternal Stench and see Didymus, he would know how to get to the castle. She set one hand on her forehead, feeling an onsetting headache, and closed her eyes. Ludo watched her quietly from his place near the creek.

Upon opening her eyes, he looked at her sadly, and she frowned. "Ludo, do you know how to get to the castle?" she asked. Ludo shook his head. "It figures." She sighed. She hung her head, not in defeat, but in thought. "I don't have the map... I don't have Didymus... I don't have any way to get there easily. I could wish myself there, but then he'd know, but if I'm wishing myself to him in the first place, so it wouldn't matter if he knew - but Hoggle said not to. He'd find some way to twist it... Shit."

* * *

Well. She's in quite a pickle.

Thanks to Ginabella49, Asyuh, notwritten, Kichiko, EternalLotus, and CoffeeKris for the kind reviews. :)

Next chapter coming soon, now that my writer's block is pretty much gone. I got a new idea... Tee hee.


	6. Frozen

Sarah brainstormed for at least an hour, not sure about where to go or how. She finally called out, "Hoggle! Hoggle, I need your help!" She stomped her foot when he didn't respond immediately, but sat down in place to wait. Another half an hour later, Hoggle finally appeared with a short pop! Sarah jumped.

He leaned heavily on his cane this time. "He's in a snit. He doesn't know about this, I know he doesn't, but you called me when I was there, and he was suspicious... What's wrong?"

"Brownies stole my map," she said dully, uncaring about Jareth's apparent problem.

Hoggle blinked at her slowly. "Brownies?" he said questioningly. "They weren't his, or he would already know... Who would've..."

She shrugged. "Maybe the same person who took Sylvie," she suggested.

"Who?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Never mind," she grumbled, and got to her feet. "I still need to get to the center. Which way do I go?" He looked around and observed their surroundings, and hummed. "Hmm?" she echoed. "_Hmm_? What does _hmm_ mean?"

He looked up at her and blinked. "I'm not entirely sure where you are, or -" he stopped in the middle of his sentence and stared past Sarah. "What is that?" He pointed past her.

Ludo was hovering behind Sarah, deciding whether or not Hoggle meant him harm. Sarah glanced back and glared at Hoggle. "It's Ludo, for Pete sake!" she hissed. "How do I get to the castle?"

Unsure, Hoggle turned around. He hemmed, hawed, grunted, sighed, and thought before he finally said, "I don't know, Sarah."

Frustrated, Sarah huffed. "Can you get me another map?" she asked hopefully.

"No," he replied. "The person who made that map hasn't been seen or heard from in several hundred years. I could get you another map, but it wouldn't be half as helpful as that one. It was bewitched to show every change that the Labyrinth made over time. Every other map is just the version of the Labyrinth that someone saw at the time, horribly inaccurate. Your best bet would be to try and get through it on your own. You did it last time."

She yelled out in anger, and kicked the nearest, dead tree. It fell over with a whine and a ground-shaking thud. She turned on Hoggle and shouted, "Last time, I had you to help me, and then that bastard threw us both into the Bog of Eternal Stench, where we found Didymus, who knew the way! Without those things, I'm screwed! Besides, you said it's changed. There's no way that I can do this without help, Hoggle!" She kicked another tree, and it, too, fell to the ground with a whine and a ground-shaking thud, and another great snap as it broke over the trunk of its brother. She stared at the two, and suddenly felt badly for her actions.

Ludo and Hoggle were both staring at her with unsure, sad eyes. She stalked away from them, out of their hearing range, and sat down hard on the creek. Hoggle told Ludo to look after her, and then disappeared again. Ludo went back to his shack, leaving Sarah alone with the water.

"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered, and sighed. She picked up a stick and trailed it along the dead leaves and dirt, and made some ripples in the water as she stabbed at the creek. She wiped her sleeve against her eyes. It was just a maze. She had done countless mazes in coloring books, but in coloring books, you could look ahead and see if you were headed for a dead end before making a decision. Now, she had no way of finding that out. "This is hopeless," she muttered. She couldn't even get back to the beginning or wish herself home now. She buried her head in her knees. Her shoulders shook.

Some leaves crunched near her. She lifted her head and looked one way, and then the other. A voice from behind her called, "It appears that you're lost, my dear."

She scrambled to her feet, mistaking the voice for Jareth's. She fell up against one of the trees, and stared at the strange woman. She certainly looked a lot like Jareth. She had his mismatched eyes, lithe form, and fetish for leather. Sarah stayed against the tree as the woman tossed her silver hair and laughed in the same way that he laughed – condescending and beautiful. Her face was attractive in a feline sense of the word. Sarah decided shortly that this woman must have been related to Jareth.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked, her voice sounding a lot less brave and arrogant than she would've liked.

The woman snickered again, flourishing her cape behind her as she moved to walk a few steps to her left. "No one of consequence," she replied. "A friend, if you so like the sentiment, or a stranger willing to help, if you'd prefer that instead." She flicked the cape away from her as she sat down, and conjured a fire before her. "Hungry?" she asked.

Sarah shook her head, and stayed against her tree. The woman leveled a gaze on her that felt exactly like Jareth's. She began to think that maybe he was in disguise as a woman, or maybe cursed to be one. "I'm not going to hurt you, Sarah," she said. The way she said her name was different than the way that Jareth did. Jareth said her name with a particular rhythm and cadence, a lilt to it that this woman didn't have. Sarah began to relax. "Tea?" she offered, holding up a tea kettle.

Carefully, she sat down across the fire. She admitted that it felt wonderful against her cold skin, making her realize just how freezing she had been. She wanted to go and get her back pack again and pull out her other jacket, but she didn't want to move either. The woman had Jareth's same charisma and magnetism. She accepted a cup of tea and could only hope that it wouldn't be poisoned like the peach that she had accepted so long ago.

The woman introduced herself as Lady Abernathy, and then paused, unsure of her words. "The Goblin King is my son," she began. Sarah stared in wonder. She knew there was something fishy about the woman. "Before you begin to assume that he or myself are evil, let me talk to you, explain some." Sarah nodded, agreeing that she could at least try to understand and listen.

"He is one of fourteen children, and is the oldest. He's always loved children. He enjoyed caring for his younger siblings. When he came of age, I convinced his stepfather to put him in charge of the lost and unwanted. He was overjoyed, and took pride in his job. He took in the unwanted children, giving them their dreams, -"

Sarah interjected, "Making them into goblins."

Lady Abernathy shook her head. "No, allowing them to be what their imaginations wanted them to be," she corrected. "Every goblin was once a child, that much is true, but not every child has wanted to be a goblin either. The children that wanted to become goblins, he allowed to become goblins, but others that wished for more things that he couldn't necessarily give them, he let sleep and dream of what they truly wanted, allowing their imaginations to rule their worlds. Most of them still dream and are happier than they would be in actual reality." She smiled, and added, "That's what the peach was for."

Thoughtfully, Sarah drank another gulp of her tea, and mulled over the taste. It was oaky and foreign, with just the right amount of sweetness for its flavor, just warm enough not to burn, but to still taste good and make her shiver as it slid down her throat. She then asked, "If he's so kind, why was he so cruel to me when I was battling the Labyrinth last time?"

She smiled ruefully. "He is very passionate about what he does, Sarah. Every child that is wished away has the choice to dream and be happy, or become a goblin and be happy. He won't give them back unless he can be assured that they will be happy with the one that wished them away, only if that individual makes enough of a change to convince him while running the Labyrinth, only if they can work hard enough to prove to him that they're worthy of having the child returned. He was being cruel because he wanted to see what you would go through to save your little brother. You passed the test. You're worthy of congratulations, Sarah, not many do." She reclined against a tree.

The girl frowned. It made perfect sense. It was like a punishment, a test to be sure that the person wouldn't mistreat them again. "What about the end of my run?" she murmured. "My dream with the peach when I was in the ballroom, when he asked me to love him, fear him, do as he says, and he would be my slave." She leveled a look of skepticism on Abernathy.

Mismatched eyes blinked at Sarah, not entirely sure how to answer. And then she sighed. "He fell in love with you, Sarah," she said simply. She looked away from her, and drank at her tea. "Unfortunately, he's used to dealing with children. With children, all you have to do is offer them their dreams, and they will do anything you say. You weren't a child, even at fourteen years old, Sarah. You refused his offer and took back your brother instead, and he was devastated. He came to me and wanted to know how he could win your heart. I'm sorry to say that I'm responsible for the dreams you suffered through for all of those months, but he eventually relented. He's never stopped watching you, waiting for the proper moment to strike. When you married that man in your world, it was as if the light behind his eyes had gone out.

"I didn't know what to do with him, so I left him alone. He cared for the children as he was supposed to, for a time, and then he slowly stopped. We waited, left him alone. The Labyrinth slowly began to decay and become as it is now, rotten and horrible. The Labyrinth is directly intact with his heart, his soul, his very being. The Labyrinth's state is very concerning. Time goes differently everywhere, and by the time I noticed how his Labyrinth was decaying, and by the time I got here, it was maybe a month ago. I've been trying to get through this accursed thing ever since. I'm not sure how, but he's muted my magic as well. I doubt he's even aware of it." She peered up at Sarah over her cup of tea. "Does this make sense to you, Sarah?" she asked.

Sarah thought about it. "I'm not entirely sure how he fell in love with me, or how he could be so assured that I'm the same person after ten years, but... I suppose it does make sense." She looked at Lady Abernathy. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Get to the center. Recover his heart, revive the Labyrinth. Give him a chance. While you weren't a child enough to refuse to save your brother, you were still a child enough to view him as evil, regardless of his intentions, which were unknown at the time." Lady Abernathy smiled at her. "Perhaps just seeing your face would help him."

She sighed. "So I have to get to the center without a map or any help?"

"I could at least provide some companionship," she offered. "I don't know my way through here any more than you do." She shrugged. "I have some magic left."

Sarah shook her head. "Hoggle said that any magic done to, for, or by me would let him know that I'm here," she said.

She grinned. "That as it may be, Sarah, I can hide any magic that I do. He won't know. It's why he doesn't know that we're having tea at the moment."

Quietly, Sarah nodded her head. "Alright."

* * *

Abernathy: a chaotic situation or freak accident.

My firstborn daughter will totally be named that. :)

Thanks for the reviews! Chapter seven is completely written and will be up on Monday.


	7. Revoltion

This chapter is when things take a turn for the worse. :( You're warned.

* * *

The next morning, once they were both well-rested and supplied, Abernathy and Sarah set out into the thick of the Labyrinth again. Sarah had tried to bring Ludo along, but he was reluctant, and she agreed to leave him be. She felt badly for the creature, but she couldn't help those who didn't want to be helped. Abernathy was in the front, leading in her stalk-like stride. Her pace was long and languid, with large steps. Sarah took two for each one of hers. It was irritating when she tried not to make it so, tried to ignore it. She sighed, watching her legs snap back and forth as if she meant business. With who? Nobody was out here aside from Sarah and Abernathy.

They walked all morning, stopping shortly for food and water when the sun was high, and moving again after they had eaten. Sarah found more fresh water and filled her water bottle again, scrambling away quickly when a fish slapped the water. Abernathy laughed at her when she noticed that the fish was about the size of her hand, rather than the size of a whale like the one she had encountered the day before. Sarah had glared, and they moved on.

Abernathy frowned and said, "Silence is depressing." She looked over her shoulder at Sarah. "Sing something?" she asked.

She blinked at her. "What?"

"Sing something," Lady Abernathy told her. "Anything."

Sarah thought for a few moments, and sighed. She didn't fight the first song that came to her mind, and started to sing softly, "_As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you. Every thrill has gone, wasn't too much fun at all. I'll be there for you-oo-oo as the world falls down_..." She looked at her feet. The song had a little more meaning to her than it usually did, in light of her recent divorce. She swallowed hard. Everything in her life had been turned upside-down by her divorce with Bryan, no matter how much she tried to deny it. She hadn't loved him, but he had been something to anchor herself to.

Glancing back at her curiously, Abernathy decided to leave her alone to her troubling thoughts. She finally said cheerfully, "I think we're getting closer."

Sarah gazed up at the castle, staring quietly. "_I'll be there for you-oo-oo as the world falls down_," she sang softly to herself. She passed Abernathy on the path, and hooked a right turn. "Come on, Abernathy," she called over her shoulder. "We can get there soon if we just try to keep moving in the right direction." When Abernathy didn't reply, Sarah stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Abernathy?" she called, a thread of fear making its way into her voice.

A distant, strangled yell was all that she heard. Sarah stared at the turn she had just taken, but it wasn't there anymore. Now, it was just a solid wall. She looked up at the castle, and frowned. "Alone again. Fantastic." She shifted the backpack on her shoulder and trudged onward. "Got to get to Sylvie," she told herself sternly. "I have got to get to Sylvie."

With no map and no companions, Sarah felt the suffocating silence of being alone. She sighed, and turned into another area towards the castle to find another familiar, open area. She blinked at the two gate guards that reminded her of playing cards. One was red, and the other was blue. They still had heads coming out of either end of the shield, but they were no longer similar-looking man-creatures. One had the head of a serpent and the other had the head of an owl. She stopped in her tracks upon seeing the owl, and stared at its heads before she approached. "One of you always lies and one of you always tells the truth, right?" she asked and dropped her bag onto the tiles.

The snake hissed. "No. One of us will eat you and one of us won't."

The owl clicked its beak. "I'm the one that won't. Owls never killed humans before. Snakes do all the time."

"Snakes can't swallow people. If venom does it, it doesn't mean they get eaten," the snake argued.

Sarah watched them bicker back and forth for awhile. "Alright!" she finally yelled. "One of you will eat me and one of you won't. I've got it. Snakes are a symbol for intelligence, but also for trickery, malice, and evil. Eve and the serpent. Owls are also a symbol of intelligence. I don't know what else for, but I do know that the king in that castle often takes the form of an owl, so I'm not really inclined to trust you either." She glanced between the two cautiously. "Do I choose a door, or do I say my choice?"

The snake blinked at her. "Silly girl," it quipped. "You are not choosing a door. You are choosing the way you will die." The head from the bottom of the shield slithered out from under it and approached her.

The head from the top of the shield with the owls grew a pair of wings and took flight, aiming for her with sharp talons. "It doesn't matter which door your decide upon. You still die, and just choose which one of us gets to have you for lunch."

"Neither," she snapped, and brandished the club. This snake could swallow her whole, it wasn't natural. She took a few hesitant steps back. She felt her heel depress onto a tile. Before she could even articulate a swear word, she was falling into a tunnel. It was slick with something thick – blood? - that she didn't want to think about, and she slid down, down, and still further down. She flew out of the tunnel and into an atrocious-smelling room that almost made her feel happy. She landed on something soft, and wondered if she even wanted to know. She looked down and screamed to find that a pile of corpses had broken her fall. Specifically, a brown-eyed little boy who was staring at her with wide, frightened eyes. She screamed again and again, scrambling backwards until she was off of the pile of corpses. She stared around in the area, and found that this was not the only pile. There were piles everywhere.

Abernathy stood near Sarah, her arms crossed and her face unreadable. "I had no idea that it had gone this far," she murmured. "I had no idea that he was torturing people like this... piling the dead in the Bog. What a monster I have birthed..." Another body dropped out of the tunnel and landed near Sarah, letting out its last breath as its arm flopped pleadingly towards her. Sarah let out another muted shriek and she backed up again until her back was against Abernathy's leg.

"What is this place?" Sarah asked fearfully.

She looked down at Sarah. "This is supposed to be the reception area, where the children are sorted between goblins and dreamers. These are children who have been wished away, and instead of being sorted and being happy, they have suffered and died." Abernathy's fists clenched. "Damn it, Jareth, and damn you! How could you do this to these children?!"

Sarah cringed as she said the king's name, turning and grabbing at the tunic material around her thighs. "Don't say his name! He can't know that I'm here!" she protested.

She sighed and shook her head. "He won't hear you, Sarah," she murmured. "If he has gone far enough to let this room go, to let all of the sorting go undone, to let his Labyrinth go into this much of decay, he can't be aware of the Labyrinth. I doubt that he's even aware of you. Maybe if you shouted it in fear, maybe then, but I _really_ doubt it." She sounded disappointed, but even more worried and angry. She was afraid for her son, Sarah realized, and afraid for herself.

"Hoggle said that if _he_ dies, then _everyone_ dies – everything in the Underground," Sarah said quickly. "Is that true?"

Abernathy looked down at Sarah, and shook her head. "He may be the heir to his father's crown, but so long as his father still lives, so will they. His kingdom will perish without him, that much is sure, but the whole of the land will live on," she explained. Sullenly, she sat down.

Slapping her hands on her thighs as she sat on her knees, Sarah stared hard at the ground. "Does he know?" Sarah asked.

She looked up at Sarah. "What?"

"**Does he know**?" she repeated louder, and closed her eyes as she heard another sickening thump.

Wondering, Abernathy shrugged after a moment. "I don't know. He should know. He should've been told, but I don't know."

Sarah scrambled to her feet and looked around. "We need to get out of here. We need to get to the castle. We need to get him to fix this – fix this!" She turned around on the spot and yanked on her own hair, whining.

Abernathy got to her feet and grabbed Sarah by the shoulders and shook her. "Sarah!" she shouted. "Get a hold of yourself!" Sarah's eyes again darted towards the piles and piles of dead bodies, and she squeaked. Abernathy put her hand over Sarah's eyes, and held her tightly as she tried to get her hands up to her face, nails pointed towards her eyes. "Stop it, Sarah, you're going to hurt yourself. Calm down."

Sarah screamed.


	8. Deliverance

Writing scary stuff is surprisingly fun. I'm a gigantic wuss, myself. I saw the Saw series, and Jigsaw has been sitting in my loft ever since, along with the monster from Jeeper's Creepers, a few zombies, a giant spider, and Samara. I know better and don't really watch scary movies anymore. I tested myself back in middle school, and my imagination is still running rampant with the baddies. Still, writing stuff that's generally horrific is kinda fun. I should have a horror warning on here, huh? :P

BTW, I'm written up through chapter eleven as of tonight, and these once-a-day updates should continue for as long as my imagination and interest holds out. I'm writing it all out quickly in hopes of finishing it before my attention span closes.

* * *

Abernathy sighed as Sarah screamed herself unconscious. She laid the girl down gently, and put her hands on her hips. She looked about for any means of escape, any means of movement out of the Bog. She didn't really see any. A strange clicking sound came from behind her first, and then to her left and right. She slowly took a knife out from a sheath that ran down the length of her thigh. "You will not touch her," she said to the creatures as they advanced over the piles of children's bodies.

She failed.

When Sarah woke up, it was dark. She shivered in the way that most people do after getting a bad night's sleep in January and waking up to find that the heater was broken. Her teeth chattered lightly, and she sat up, rubbing her arms. She examined her surroundings as much as she could. There was a small source of light that seemed distant, and it was far above her head. It didn't do much of anything at all to the room. She could see a thing, barely the hand in front of her face. She groped around cautiously, and found her backpack. She had been using it for a pillow, apparently needing the comfort in the cold night. She unzipped it and dug into it eagerly, and found her flashlight.

She paused before using it, and suddenly remembered the events leading up to this room. The brownies, Abernathy, the tunnel, the Bog, and the _bodies_. The innumerable amount of _bodies_. Another shiver ran up her spine, and this time it was not from the temperature. She turned on the flashlight, and warily turned it towards her immediate surroundings. She yelped and dropped the flashlight, and it spun to show her the entire room.

It looked like a tomb or mausoleum of some sort, and there were skulls embedded into the walls. Some were human, but most weren't. There were some of animals that she vaguely recognized, and some that made her only think of aliens or mythical creatures. She stared at them, and became aware of a small mewling sound. Shortly after that, she became aware that she was the one making it. She put a hand against her throat to stop it, and picked up her flashlight again. She ignored the skulls and looked for an opening of some sort.

There were none. The room was circular and claustrophobically small. The skulls seemed to stare at her with hollow eyes, and it was all that she could do to not look at them. In the center of the room, near her feet, was a small table that had a candle. She knew better than to go around lighting strange candles – she had seen the movie Hocus Pocus. Swallowing thickly, she shined the light upward. Nothing responded. She sighed, and sat the flashlight on end on the floor, illuminating the entire room so that she could at least have some illusion of light. She buried her head on her knees. "Damn it," she murmured.

A clicking sound came from behind her. Sarah felt a terrible pang of dread hit her between her lungs and stomach, and her eyes opened wide. "Abernathy... Please be Abernathy." She turned and looked over her shoulder.

Behind her, a wide cavern had opened up into darkness. She grabbed the flashlight and shone it towards the sound fiercely. Her other hand groped in her backpack for her club. The flashlight caught a glimmer of something unearthly, a talon or leg of some sort, a spidery limb. She stiffened. She wasn't arachnaphobic, no, but the sheer size of the spider would be enough to scare anyone. There was no way that she could fight it. She grabbed up her backpack, and ran at it. Alarmed, the creature veered off of its course and onto the wall, and she kept running past it with the knowledge that she could not outrun it. She had to put up a fight.

The light of the flashlight bounced off of the cavern's distant walls and created odd shimmers of color and magic. She panted as she ran, and then shouted, "Abernathy! Hoggle! Somebody help me!" The cavern narrowed, and then began to twist and turn. She chose turns at random, and came to a dead end. She beat against the rock, pushing with all of her might and pleading with it to just move. Nothing happened.

Spidery limbs made more clicking sounds from behind her. She turned and stared at the spider as it advanced on her, and tears ran down her face. She was breathing fast due to adrenaline, and she couldn't control her eyes' wild darts here and there, anywhere to look for a place to escape. Above her was another hole, but she couldn't reach it, and the light was again very distant from her. She screamed, "Abernathy! Hoggle!" and closed her eyes, flinging her hands over her face in her last attempt to buy herself some time. A spidery limb caressed her leg, and it felt like plastic with long metal hairs.

"Cover your eyes!" a voice demanded. She was already doing so, but she looked up from her arms in time to see a crystal drop from the beginning of the hole so many feet above her. It bounced once on the ground and then created a brilliant flash of light. The spider shrieked and recoiled. A rope snaked its way down in front of Sarah, a convenient loop tied in the end. Sarah lunged at it, putting one foot in the loop and holding the rope close to her. Something, or someone, pulled her up from the entrance of the pit. She didn't care what it was, she was going to kiss it.

She clambered out of the hole with little to no dignity at all, and lay on her back, panting in the sunlight. She closed her eyes and laid one hand across her stomach. She had a feeling that she might be arachnaphobic after this. Given a moment of time to relax and recover, she opened her eyes and stared around for her rescuer. She wasn't too surprised to find another Jareth clone. It wasn't Abernathy, though. This was a boy, much younger in appearance than Jareth or Abernathy, though with almost exactly his appearance, though shorter.

He looked to be about twelve years old, and he was determinedly rolling rope from his shoulder to his elbow, the rope that he had used to pull her up, she presumed. His hair was fiery red and wild like Jareth's, and he was rail-thin. He wore a white shirt that reminded her of a Renaissance farm boy and what appeared to be riding breeches. An old pack lay at his feet, open to show several crystals and other supplies.

Sarah sat up and looked at him, trying to figure out his relation to Jareth. She finally gave up and said, "I'll just assume you know who I am, and skip straight to asking who you are."

The boy straightened and looked at her, surprised, for a moment. And then he bowed to her from the waist down, gracefully. Not as graceful as Jareth, but damned close. Her eyes narrowed as he stood straight again, and looked at her. His eyes were a normal, pale green. He smiled. His teeth, though crooked, were neither sharp nor pointed. She decided that the boy was human, or was, but was a really good imitation of Jareth. "My name is Nathan," he told her in an Irish lilt. "I dreamed of being a prince to the Goblin King, and here I am." He flourished his hands in a similar fashion to Jareth's. It was like a carbon copy, creepy yet satisfying. "Unfortunately, I dreamed just before your appearance, dear Sarah, and ever since then, it's been an uphill battle. I've had to deal with everything that he's supposed to deal with, and you can imagine that it's not easy."

"I can imagine," she echoed, and nodded. She examined him again, and noted, "You're young."

Nathan shook his head. "No," he replied, "I was young. I'm older than you are, by Labyrinth ages. Still, I retain my appearance. It's a nifty nuisance. I'll always have the innocence and trustworthiness of a young boy, even as my mind ages beyond my appearance. I could use it to my advantage, but to tell you the truth, I would rather grow." He smiled viciously at her, and again, reminded her of Jareth. "I've decided to help you because the goblins have told me that the king had a quite voracious attachment to you, and perhaps you could help me release him of this spell."

She nodded her head. "That's the idea... I don't suppose you took my sister, hm?" she asked, and glared at the boy.

"Sylvie is being properly cared for," he assured her, ruffling his feathers. "You needn't worry about her. You won't see her until you've fixed the Goblin King. Am I understood?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "That's awfully assuming and demanding of you. I doubt that he'd be very proud." She was picking at what appeared to be his weakness – Jareth.

He smiled at her. She could've sworn his teeth were just slightly more pointed than they had been a moment ago. "Do not underestimate me, Sarah," he said tightly. "I don't care about you or your sister. All I care about is returning him to his proper state. I could've just as easily left you in that cavern to die, and it wouldn't have made a lick of difference to me."

"Except that you need me to fix the King," she reminded him. She put her hands on her knees and got very close to his face. "If you hurt myself, or my sister, I won't fix him. I'll take her and go home."

Nathan sneered. "What makes you think you can do that?"

She smiled and straightened, and repeated the words she had used so long ago. "_Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I will fight my way to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child which you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great. **You have no power over me**_**.**"

The boy looked as though he had just been struck by lightening, and he went deathly still. His eyes narrowed at hers, and he was scarcely breathing. "Be that as it may," he said softly, "I'm the only one who knows where your sister is. Out of the two of us, I'm the only one who knows the way back to the castle."

Sarah shrugged. "Be **that **as it may," she mocked him, "I could find my way to the castle eventually, and fix him before I even see you, and tell him what a naughty boy you've been in his absence. I'm very sure that he would take my side in things." She tapped him on the nose. "Lead the way, Nathan."

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Nathan's a little bastard, but Sarah can deal with him. :)

...snerk... a 12-year-old villian... I'm twisted XD


	9. Deception

Movie suggestion/recommendation: Jack (1996). Starring Robin Williams. It's about a 10-year-old boy stuck in a 40-year-old body and the hardships that he faces in his first year going to a public school rather than being home-schooled, how his age and personality conflicts with his appearance and what people expect of him according to it.

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Sarah and Nathan had come to a grudging, silent truce. It had been established that they didn't like one another, but they were forced to deal with one another for the time being. It was frustratingly quiet as they walked. Nathan twisted and turned and seemed to know where he was going. Sarah followed listlessly behind him, desperately missing Abernathy's company. At least then she had conversation to keep her mind off of the situation.

The little punk in front of her knew where her sister was, and she didn't. The little punk in front of her knew how to get to the castle, and she didn't. The little punk in front of her was able to use magic, and she wasn't. It seemed like he had more cards than she did in their little power game, but she had the trump – Nathan couldn't get through to Jareth, and she could. If she wanted, she could turn the Goblin King against the Goblin Prince. She could win, but she first needed Nathan's help to get to the castle, which he was gladly supplying. She was still deciding if she would lead him to doom or not.

He stopped suddenly and she nearly ran into him. She watched as he stared at the two doors in front of them. He looked behind them, puzzled, and looked back at the doors, and around them. "What is it?" Sarah asked, impatient.

"I... I've never been here before," he admitted uneasily.

Sarah glared at the back of his bright red head, and was tempted to hit him upside the head. "Great," she said cheerfully, "and here I thought you knew where you were going." She looked at the doors and stalked up to them. "I've been here. This room is a _piece of cake_. Just knock on one of the doors," she said, and demonstrated by knocking on the same one that she had all those years ago, "and they open." The door swung open, and she flourished a hand, mocking Nathan. "After you, _your majesty_," she exaggerated.

Haughtily, Nathan stomped past her, and fell into the same pit that she had. She heard the helping hands ask him, "Up or down?"

"Down!" she yelled into the hole. The helping hands cackled, and Nathan yelled a strangled threat to her. She ignored it, flipped her hair, and jumped over the hole. She took off into a triumphant run. She could actually see the castle from here. As she turned another corner, she stepped into a widened area. The only two exits of which were behind her and in front of her in the form of a rope bridge that led into mist thick enough to obscure the end of the bridge, and where its destination was. She walked forward slowly, and the mist thinned out as she walked.

A few yards from the bridge, a figure materialized from the mist. Sarah jumped and scrambled a few feet backward before she focused on its figure. The sphinx laughed and tossed her head. She sat before the bridge coyly and grinned at Sarah with sharply pointed teeth. Sarah shivered.

"I guard this path to the castle," she told Sarah, her voice a light, lilting tone that Sarah couldn't place the accent of. It was pleasant. "You may choose to hear my riddle. Should you answer correctly, I will allow you to pass. Should you answer incorrectly, I have the pleasure of your company for lunch. Or, you may choose to walk away and suffer no consequences but that of a longer walk." Sarah looked up and to her left at the castle, and was unsure how the bridge in front of her could lead straight to the castle. She left the explanation up to magic, as she did with a lot of things in the Labyrinth. "Choose, human," the sphinx snapped. "I haven't got all day."

Sarah looked at the sphinx, the bridge, and the castle. Sphinxes were, by nature, incapable of lying, if her memory served her right. She trusted it to say that the bridge led to the castle. She chewed on her lip lightly. "How long will I have to answer?" she asked.

The sphinx replied, "As long as you need."

Nodding, Sarah sat and made herself comfortable. "Okay," she said, "let's hear it."

Primping a little, the sphinx carefully announced her riddle. "What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed but never sleeps?" She looked proud of herself.

Blinking, Sarah smiled. She had heard this one before. "A river," she said decidedly after only a few moments.

"Ugh," the sphinx complained, "I'm used to stupid goblins, they never get that one right... Humans, on the other hand, they always get everything I throw at them." She got up with a heavy sigh, and moved to one side of the bridge.

Sarah smiled understandingly. "I'm sorry... Perhaps come up with a harder riddle for humans?" she offered, hiking up her backpack and heading towards the bridge. The sphinx nodded her head disinterestedly and waved a paw at Sarah. Sarah giggled and stepped carefully out onto the bridge.

"Watch your step," the sphinx added as an afterthought.

She looked down at the bridge and stopped dead in her tracks. It was only planks tied together with braided rope that was frayed in places, and there were some missing planks. She frowned. This was going to be more difficult than simply walking across a bridge. Nothing in the Labyrinth was ever simple, she remembered, and looked up into the strange mist. She didn't like it. There were, thankfully, no crystals floating out to greet her, but she was still wary. She stepped carefully onto the first plank, and held onto the rope on both sides of her, in case she decided to fall.

Once, a plank broke beneath her foot, but she shifted her weight backward onto the sturdy plank before it, and watched as the pieces of wood sank into the mist below her. She let out a breath, and moved on. Another time, she had to jump over four missing planks, and only just barely made it over the gap. She let out a breath, and moved on. Finally, she reached the end of the bridge, and stepped onto solid ground again. The dirt began to crumble beneath her, and she let out a little shriek, running forward to avoid falling into the chasm. The mists cleared as she moved forward, showing a simple, flat plain that led up to the junkyard, and then the castle. Sarah was close now. She hiked her backpack up again, and continued on.

Crossing the plain was uneventful. Once she reached the junkyard, she came across several collectors at once, each one offering her something of her past, some toys or books or the music box. She shook her head and politely declined any of it. She knew better. Once she grabbed one thing, she would begin to forget why she was here, and if she forgot why she was here, she would ruin everything. She wove through the junk piles, being sure to check her progress towards the castle each time she lost sight of it and then regained it again around a junk pile.

Winding her way past the junk, some of which she vaguely recognized, but most of which she just thought of as complete junk, she found Abernathy about to accept a peach.

"Don't!" she yelled.

Abernathy snatched her hand back away from the collector and looked at her. Her hazy eyes cleared and she smiled. "Sarah!" she said delightedly, and moved away from the lizard-like collector. "I've been looking for you. Here you are!" She giggled.

Sarah gave her a deadpan look. "What did you eat?"

"Nothing," Abernathy replied.

"Drink?"

Abernathy shook her head wildly.

"Smoke?"

Pausing to think and pressing a hand to her lips, she again shook her head.

She sighed. "What did you do? Did you take something from them?" she asked.

"Nothing!" she said cheerfully. "I only took a gift from the sphinx. She was nice, wasn't she?" She giggled again, and lost her balance somehow. She fell onto a junk pile and whined.

She put a hand on her hip and stared at Abernathy. "What was the gift, Abernathy?" she asked.

"Umm... a peach!" she declared.

Sarah slapped her forehead. "Great. Instead of making you hallucinate, it's just made you high. Fantastic." She turned towards the castle again. "Maybe it'll wear off by the time we get to the castle. Come on, Abernathy..."

"Okay!"


	10. Asphyxiation

**PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE CHANGED MY PENNAME FROM IRISH TUMBLEWEED TO DEVABBI. **I have my own, specific reasons for doing so, including the fact that I'm known as Devabbi on just about every other site that I have an account with and would like to be unanimously known as one name (like shinga, rozefire, elvire, humon) around the Internet. I'm still the same person, nobody's stolen my story, I promise.

under00z, fatesfortune, notwritten, Katie, psychogizmo, thundara, aysuh, ginabella59, kichiko, coffeekris, eternallotus - THANK YOU! :)

Especially notwritten. Your reviews are always so sweet, they make me smile, you always sound so sincere n' concerned. Gracias! (Psychogizmo, Aysuh, and ginabella59 too for the repeated reviews!)

New chapter!

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The castle gates were still and silent, and the damp sun of the Labyrinth was setting. All of the goblins' normal chatter was not to be heard. It made Sarah slightly uneasy, and she made sure that Abernathy followed close behind her. She tried to get the woman to be quiet, but there was very little hope for it. She came up with an idea before she pushed open the gate and asked her, "Abernathy, do you need to breathe to survive?"

Abernathy blinked at her and shook her head. "Nah," she replied, "I can hold my breath for a long time."

"Well, hold it until you simply can't anymore. Okay?" Sarah smiled as Abernathy's cheeks puffed out dutifully, and continued on. Sarah pushed the gate open as quietly as she could, and Abernathy followed her inside as stealthily as they could manage. She headed down the first street, trying to blend in. There weren't many goblins on the desolate streets. The lamps were all doused, save for a few. Most of the houses were boarded up, and the painted shops were closed early. It was eerily quiet, for a Goblin City. Abernathy gasped for breath, stopping for a moment. Sarah whirled around to shush her, but was immediately silenced.

There was a pack of dogs stalking maybe twenty yards behind them. Each one was about the size of Ludo. It suddenly explained why there were no goblins on the streets. She backed up, slowly, and grabbed Abernathy by the elbow to lead her backward as well. She kept an eye on the goblins, and Abernathy kept glancing backwards to let her know if there was any dangers. They communicated silently with glances and nods, the international language of females.

The dogs advanced on them slowly, coming only a few inches closer with every step, but the distance was shortly closed between them. They spat and snarled viciously, growling in warning and in excitement, their tails standing up straight. Sarah was careful not to make any sudden movements, and Abernathy was intuitive enough to do the same. She slowly removed her sword from the sheath at her hip, holding it in front of them threateningly. One of the dogs moved forward more than the others, the obvious pack leader. Its colorations were different. Most of the dogs were brown or black, but this one was a fiery red.

Sarah stopped in her tracks. "Nathan you little bastard," she snapped.

With a puff of smoke and a whip-like crack, Nathan the Goblin Prince stood before them rather than a dog. He waved a hand at the other dogs, and they moved around Abernathy and Sarah in a circle. "Clever trick, Sarah," he sneered, "but you can't keep me away for long. Your presence is magnetic. All in the Labyrinth feel it." He began to walk towards her. Abernathy moved in front of her. He stopped and gave her a calculating look. "And just who are you?" he demanded.

"Jareth's mother," she replied flatly. "If you're the prince, this puts me as your grandmother, and I'm about to tan your hide, little boy, if you don't let Sarah go to him. Now."

Nathan laughed. "Such large words for such a small woman... I see the resemblance between yourself and your son." He paced twice in front of them, not moving closer or further away, just a simple left-to-right pace, as if he were sizing her up. "You're still disoriented from that peach, aren't you?" he said, a sly smile making its way to his face.

Abernathy's face hardened, and she drew another blade from a sheath along her spine that Sarah had never seen before. "I've got two blades – one for each of you," she replied to her double-visioned view of Nathan.

"Abernathy," Sarah began uneasily, holding her club tightly in one hand. "Maybe we should..."

A trumpet sounded from down one of the streets, and Nathan groaned. "That insufferable nuisance!" he snapped, and ran down the nearest alleyway. The dogs, howling, followed him. From around the corner, a procession of sheepdogs and their riders came trotting up the street. Sarah straightened to recognize Didymus, though he was significantly younger than she remembered him. The white mustache was reddish-brown and he stood straighter on his trusty steed.

"Move along!" he bellowed in a baritone voice. "Move along! Curfew is in effect! Move along!"

Abernathy cursed under her breath and grabbed Sarah by the elbow, dragging her into an alleyway before they were spotted and before Sarah could shout his name. Sarah protested. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "Didymus will help me!"

She shook her head, and continued to walk briskly down the alleyway, trying doors to boarded-up homes for somewhere to hide. "No, he won't, because Didymus is dead. He died years ago, Sarah. He was a close adviser to Jareth's father, we were notified immediately of his death. That is Didymus' son, Copernicus. He's a downright bastard, and he's been the steward to Jareth's throne for quite some time. He's probably been training Nathan. He's a tyrant – he's induced a curfew in order to try and stop the Labyrinth's rotting, but he's an idiot because Jareth is doing it, not the goblins. They're miserable because of him, and – damn it!" She kicked another door. The patrol had lit torches and was coming their way. "Open!" she hissed at the door. It clicked, and she opened it, and slipped inside. "We can try to sneak in once the patrol has lightened up." She sat heavily in a chair far too small for her, and folded her hands over her stomach.

Sarah stood just inside the closed door, and held her backpack to her chest. She took a deep, deciding breath, and put her bag down on the table in the small kitchen. She lit a few candles and dug out some food. She threw one of the snack bars at Abernathy, and sat down with some bread for herself. She drank down the last of her water, and looked to Abernathy. She had gulped down the snack bar, and tilted her head back to sleep. Sarah frowned, guessing that meant that she was supposed to stay awake. She put her head on her hand, and rummaged through her bag. She didn't find anything entertaining, so she settled for wondering what she was going to say to Jareth when she finally found him.

_"Jareth, darling, won't you wake up and revive your kingdom before it no longer exists?"_

_"Feather-head, you're **way** past your beauty sleep."_

_"Jareth, you dunderhead! Wake up and look at what you've done!"_

_"Look, Jareth – **this** is thy negligence!"_

_"Hey, you on the other side... Let him go. Because for him I'll cross over, and then you'll be sorry."_

She put the back of her hand to her forehead. "Now I'm just getting stupid," she murmured and yawned. She folded her arms over the table and laid her head along them.

Something made a sound in a nearby home, and Sarah jumped and gazed around the room. She got up and peeked through a crack in the boards. The sun was just beginning to show up over the horizon. Dawn. She nudged Abernathy eagerly, and the woman jumped. "Come on," she said softly. "It's dawn, I bet we could make it in before anyone notices us."

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Abernathy nodded and got to her feet. "Did you get any sleep?" she asked. Sarah shrugged. She actually wasn't sure. It had been a long time since they'd gone into the house, she knew that much, but she couldn't remember actually sleeping or dreaming. She imagined she had.

She and Abernathy snuck out of the back door of the house and moved towards the castle. They stayed in the shadows and the alleyways on the way, never entirely too sure of who or what might be on the streets. They finally reached the castle gates, but they seemed impregnable. Abernathy put her hands on her hips and gazed up at the black stone walls. "Fantastic," she murmured. "Don't suppose you have any rope on you?" Sarah shook her head.

Abernathy popped her knuckles, and laid her hands on the wall. "Make me a ladder," she whispered to the bricks. The wall shook and a few of the bricks, each about a foot apart, slid out of their places enough to make a small foothold. Abernathy giggled at her work, and climbed up and over the wall. Sarah followed her quickly. Abernathy quickly touched the wall behind her after climbing over, and the bricks were sucked back into the wall. They were in the royal gardens now.

Sarah scratched her arm. It wasn't far now, but she had to weave her way through the gardens. The gates had been closed for a long while, meaning that there were no guards or beasts to worry about. She moved forward before Abernathy did, heading straight for the big, black front doors. "Monochrome is so melodramatic," she sneered jokingly at Abernathy, who laughed out loud.

A rumble sounded from behind them, and Sarah groaned. "Come on!" she protested. "Give me a break."

"Run!" Abernathy commanded. Sarah turned towards the rumble to see a reptilian head begin to come out of the ground.

Sarah screamed, and took off at a dead run towards the castle doors. They were locked, of course, but she just yelled at them, "Open!" and they did so. They slammed shut behind her and left her in darkness. She whimpered slightly, and fished out her flashlight and lighter. She knew there were torches along the walls. Nobody had been by to light them recently, she guessed. She found a few along one wall and began to light them, one by one, as she passed them, allowing for a little more light each time. She found a staircase and began to wind her way up, saying softly to herself, "The princess is always in the highest room of the tallest tower," and giggling.

She passed through a few familiar rooms, but stopped as she heard a soft voice singing to her left. She hooked around the next corner and listened again.


	11. Phantasm

**AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE CHANGED MY PENNAME FROM IRISH TUMBLEWEED TO DEVABBI. **I have my own, specific reasons, which are cited in chapter 10. Thanks!

Holy crap. I just got 10 reviews in ONE night. Right on! Thanks so much guys. I feel like I've got a following, a fanbase! woot :D I feel so looooved... You guys rule. Yaknow who you are, I'll make a big-ass list in the ending author's notes... Thanks so much for reading, and even more for reviewing! 1300 hits and counting, 34 reviews at ten chapters - _and this story has been up **for a week**_. :)

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"_Though I do believe in you... yes, I do... Live without the sunlight, love without your heartbeat... I can't live within you_..."

Sarah felt a shiver run down her spine, and she grinned at the prospect of seeing him again. She didn't know why. He had been cruel to her during her last visit – setting her time forward, throwing curve balls at her in the form of crystals, throwing her into oubliettes... But at the same time, he had seemed like he was doing it for a purpose, and hated to do it as well. Abernathy had said that he was intentionally cruel to those who had wished away their siblings, to teach them a lesson and make them appreciate the gift of a child. Her trip through the Labyrinth had made her grow up and she did appreciate that. He had acted like a grudging parent that has to ground their ungrateful teenager to teach them a lesson, and it hurts so much when they scream and slam the door in your face, which was pretty much what she had done to him, though not in a parent-child relationship. "You have no power over me" had been the same as a door slamming to him.

Sarah stopped just before an archway. She could see a small bit of the room, a sliver of it really, around the corner, and she leaned forward to see more. Her hair draped over her shoulder and hung down to her waist. She glanced at it, and blinked for a moment. She hadn't been aware of how long it was until she came here and remembered how it used to be, just past her shoulders then. She peeked around the corner into the room, and looked around for him. He wasn't aware of anything, as far as she could tell. He had a crystal in his hand, hunched over it and humming the song softly. The broken sight of him made her cringe, and she frowned. She walked into the room without fear. He was across the room of stairs. She stood on her ledge, not entirely sure how to get to him, and tried to map out a path that she should take by looking around.

She trotted down one set of stairs and jogged through several archways, trying to keep him in sight as she slowly made her way towards him. The room, and especially its gravity, was confusing. Finally, she reached what seemed to be a dead end for her, and looked upward. Jareth's legs hung over the ledge above her. She frowned, and backed up as far as she could go on the ledge, trying to see his face.

Pausing, she wasn't entirely sure of what tone she should use. She frowned, and then just called out gently, "Jareth?"

"_Your eyes can be so cruel_," he murmured, staring at the crystal.

She put her hands on her hips. This was going to be harder than she thought. "Jareth?" she called again. He didn't respond. He probably thought that he was hallucinating. She sighed, and looked around at the stairs again. "I wish there was a stairway that led right to Jareth," she proclaimed to the room. Jareth jolted to one side, and a staircase built itself out of the stones on Sarah's ledge. She smiled, and walked up them slowly. She didn't want to startle him into anger. She carefully sat down beside him and looked at the crystal, wondering what he saw. She didn't see anything. She frowned, and leaned on his arm. "Jareth," she whispered into his ear. "It's me... It's Sarah."

Jareth's eyes flicked towards her for a moment. "No one can blame you for walking away," he whispered, and it didn't sound as though he were speaking directly to her. She still thought that he must believe he was hallucinating. It was frustrating.

Again, Sarah frowned. She peered at the crystal that he held, and saw the same ballroom scene that he had placed her in during a dream on her last visit. She looked at his blank face and grabbed the crystal. She threw it as hard as she could into the stair room. He cried out and lunged, trying to go after it, but she caught him by the shirt. He was surprisingly easy to detain. The crystal shattered as it hit the stone on the far wall. He went limp and draped himself across Sarah's lap, staring at the pieces. His breathing was heavy. His hands clenched around her thigh and calf, and slowly, he began to realize that they weren't his legs.

He rolled his head back to look at her face and reached up a hand to touch her cheek gently with his fingertips. "Sarah..." he mumbled lovingly. Sarah did her best not to recoil. He pressed a hand against her cheek, and then hefted himself up so that he was sitting beside her. She gave him a bemused look. She'd never imagined that she would ever see him so flustered. "Sarah," he said again, not questioning, just a statement, and pressed a hand against her shoulder and then her thigh. A grin began to spread itself across his face. "Sarah!" he finally said delightedly, both hands on her cheeks.

Sarah smiled at him. "Hello, Jareth," she replied. As much as she wasn't quite comfortable with him touching her, she had to admit, his touch was comforting, gentle, and warm. Surprisingly warm, since the drafty castle had been empty and thus cold for so long now. She placed one hand over his, and pulled it away from her face to inspect it. She traced a finger across his palm. "You've been out of it for a very long time, Jareth," she told him.

"I'm not hallucinating," he said sternly, and curled his fingers around hers.

She shook her head. "No, you're not. I'm really here." She smiled at him, at his mismatched eyes and beautiful face.

"I thought you were dead," he said, and his voice came close to breaking.

Canting her head to the side, she replied, "Why would you think that?"

He looked down at the pieces of the crystal that were left on the floor. "I had been watching you, and a few days ago, you just... disappeared. I didn't know where you'd gone."

"Into your Labyrinth again," she said with a sharp nod. "It's much more difficult now, Jareth. Very dangerous and frightening. I was wondering if maybe you would like to tone it down?"

His eyes looked confused now, and his brows scrunched together. "Me? I haven't done anything to it."

Sarah frowned. "The Labyrinth is connected to your heart, Jareth. You've been moping in here for a hundred years, and the Labyrinth has felt your despair, and has decayed for you. There's monsters, more traps, it's dark and claustrophobic – and I swear I'm going to be afraid of spiders for the rest of my life thanks to you as well."

He pushed away from her, getting to his feet and pacing. "You mean to tell me that the Labyrinth reacts to my life, my heart?" he asked, giving her a pointed look.

She shrugged. "That's what Hoggle said."

Jareth shook his head and turned away. "That's impossible," he said flatly.

"How do you figure?" she asked. She was surprised that he was so coherent at the moment, after being alone and silent for so long. Well, she wasn't entirely sure about the silent part, but he had been basically alone for twenty years or more, according to Hoggle. That was how long the castle had been closed.

He sighed. "Because, Sarah, I don't have my heart anymore. I gave it to you."

_I have a gift for you, Sarah. But it's not for any ordinary girl who takes care of a screaming baby... Do you want it?_

Sarah looked down at her lap and chewed on her lip. "So the decay is my fault?" she asked slowly.

"I would guess so," he replied with a gallant shrug.

She looked up at him, confused. "But my heart isn't broken, Jareth," she protested.

He stared at her. "Isn't it though?" he asked. "Your husband doesn't love you, you have no children to give your heart to, and without being gifted, a heart is just a blood organ." He spat out the bit about Bryan, and it made Sarah cringe. He sounded so spiteful, so envious of the man that she had married.

"I don't have a husband anymore, Jareth," she told him flatly, and traced a line in the stonework.

His eyes narrowed at her. "I don't understand," he admitted.

Sarah looked up at him. "He wanted a divorce."

Waving a hand, he turned away. "That word is foreign to me," he said haughtily.

Seeing his old personality beginning to shine through, Sarah smiled slightly. "It means that I'm not married to him anymore. I don't have a husband. He gave back the piece of my heart that I gave to him, it no longer belongs to him," she explained as best she could.

He turned to look at her again. "He only had a piece?"

She shrugged. "I didn't really love him," she said unabashedly.

Jareth frowned. "How could you not really love him?" he snapped. "You married him."

"While that much is true, marriage doesn't have to be about love. I married him because he was a nice guy, someone I could deal with and that could deal with me, kind, caring..." She frowned and added, "Sterile," as an afterthought.

His eyebrows met his hairline as she said that. "Why in the name of everything good would you want a man that could not give you children?" he demanded.

Sarah looked up at him with a bright smile. She knew the answer to that one. "I didn't want to have children that weren't yours," she said. He stared at her, and she laughed. "I don't really know why. I'm not infatuated with you like you are with me, but I used to dream about children with mismatching eyes, and their father was never anyone else but you. I couldn't shatter that dream." She grasped her own ankles, and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm big on dreams, you see," she said quietly, conspiratorially.

He stared at her for a few moments, and then looked away at the pieces of the crystal she had thrown. He frowned, and produced another out of thin air. It took him several tries for lack of practice, but he finally came up with on in his hand. "Show me the Labyrinth," he murmured to it, and blew on it. Sarah just watched patiently.

The crystal swirled black, but that was all that Sarah could see. She watched as Jareth's eyes widened more and more as he saw the decay and destruction of his beloved Labyrinth. He placed a hand over his mouth and was obviously upset. His face slowly got redder as he watched, and then he threw the crystal away from him. It broke against a wall, leaving the pieces to fall to the ledge nearby. He pointed a finger at her. "I would like my heart back, Sarah dearest, so that I may fix this mess!"

Trying not to act as hurt as she was, Sarah got to her feet and brushed herself off just to hide her face from him with her hair. "So have it," she said nonchalantly, and walked away from him. "I have no power over you."

* * *

- thanks MindOverMatter for pointing out the non-clarity of that sentence. Fixed it!


	12. Want

Thanks again for the reviews, guys! I've made a policy not to respond too much to reviews, because it runs the risk of ruining some of the story, but to Astrophysics Rock... Maybe. :)

Naw, I do plan on a somewhat happy ending (bittersweet?), but keep in mind that I've got a maybe-sequel in the works as well. This chapter does have some minor fluff.

Might not be a new chapter tomorrow night, just a warning! I'm going to be pretty busy this weekend, but tomorrow night might be a blank slate and there might be one up late like today (I had friends over tonight for a movie night, and we watched Labyrinth, Monty Python, and Spaceballs... We planned to watch RENT, Dogma, and Benny & Joon, but didn't have time).

* * *

"It's not that easy, Sarah," he growled under his breath, turning to watch her walk away. He didn't like the feeling that came with the image.

Sarah glanced over her shoulder at him and shrugged. She stepped off of the ledge and landed hard on the one beneath them. She cringed, having hurt her ankle. "Shit," she grumbled. Jareth leaned over the edge and looked down, glad to see that there was a ledge not too far down, not enough to break anything anyways. He rolled his eyes. She glared up at him defiantly, and he tilted his head in puzzlement to see that her eyes shone with an extra layer of liquid.

His eyes narrowed. "You're not going to cry, are you?" he asked, standing straight but still looking at her.

"No!" she yelled at him, and began to mumble under her breath as she looked around for the entrance that she had come in through. "Fucking... jackass... shouldn't have gotten my hopes up... Always an asshole..."

Jareth put his hands on his hips and scowled. He looked away from her. All these years, he had pined away and wished for her to return to his Labyrinth, and now that she had, he couldn't treat her the way she deserved to be treated. He sighed, and shook some of his hair. "Sarah..." he began.

Even from where she was making her way, slowly, across the room, she heard him. "Save it!" she snapped. "I'm not listening to your dreamy, imaginary shit anymore. I don't care anymore. The Labyrinth can rot for all I care. Whole land might be better off with you dead!"

He cringed. "Don't say things you don't mean, Sarah," he reprimanded. She just held up a choice finger at him, and didn't even look at him. She was trying to walk up a set of stairs, and sprained ankles hurt. Sometimes worse than broken ankles, depending on the break. She chewed her lip and swiped away a tear before it could fall and alert him. She limped, going up the stairs one at a time, putting both feet on it before bringing her good foot up to move up more. It would take forever in this room, but she was determined not to accept any of his help. She glanced up at him and tripped, and yelped as she fell onto the sharp stairs. She caught herself with her hands against the ledge, and one of them split and bled, and another step scraped some skin off of her knees. She turned and sat on the stair she had tripped on and beat a hand on top of one of her knees, resulting in another yelp as it was her bleeding hand. Tears ran down her face now. She never was big on pain.

Jareth watched with an even gaze, and then dropped down to the ledge she had done, and walked to her calmly. He crouched in front of her and took her hand, inspecting it. He produced a clean cloth out of thin air and pressed it against the wound, to which she hissed and recoiled. He held firm though, and looked at the wound again after a moment or two of silence. He just listened to her cry unabashedly now, too frustrated and angry to care or bother trying to stop them from flowing. He kept his head down and watched as the blood came through the cloth. He frowned, removing it and winding it a different way before reapplying it.

"Sarah," he began again, after her tears had subsided somewhat. She was staring at her hand, sniffling and watching him inspect her knees around his work on her hand. He looked at the cloth in distaste and flicked it to one side, and the blood left it entirely. "It's not as easy as you just saying you give it back. I have to _take_ it back. You have to want me to take it back." He folded it carefully and then tied it expertly around her hand. "We have to work together for this," he said, his hands folded over her injured one.

She stared at their hands and then looked up into his eyes. "I don't want you to," she whispered.

"What?" he looked up at her, startled.

Sarah said again, "I don't want you to." She dropped his gaze, and looked at their hands again. "Take your heart back, I mean. I don't want you to."

He sighed. "You must," he insisted.

"Why?" she demanded hotly. "Why must I, Jareth oh King of Goblins? You were just waiting for me for a hundred years in here, pining away and closing your castle and being all dramatic and depressed – and now you want me to throw away what effort I was willing to put into simply trying a relationship? Fuck you." She kicked at him with her foot, but he only grabbed at her ankle. She yelped, as he had grabbed her sprained ankle, and jerked away from him. He rushed an apology about the ankle, but took the foot in his hand again. He sat along the stair below her and took off her shoe. "What are you doing?" she asked, looking for all the world as if she were about to take off his head and throw it like a crystal.

Jareth didn't look at her. Instead, he smoothed his fingers over her ankle, gently prodding and rubbing. The pain slowly subsided to a dull throb rather than a stabbing ache. She frowned, crossing her arms. She began to flex her hand, but thought better of it and stopped before it hurt. She looked at Jareth. He seemed to be thinking about something, and it wasn't her ankle. "Sarah, you cannot stay here," he told her softly. She only saw his blue eye as he glanced up at her.

She scowled at him. "Why not?" she asked.

He sighed. "I'm getting tired of you asking questions," he grumbled, but explained, "You cannot stay here because you are not of this world. You're a human, Sarah, you live on Earth in a suburb for goodness sake... I can't take you away from that life any more than you would like to be taken away from it." He smoothed a hand down the calf of her jeans and looked up at her mournfully. "All my years of day-dreaming are hazy, but I realized that much, and that was the source of most of my despair. Wanting you, but never being allowed to have you, never being allowed to keep you." He folded his arms over his chest. "And thus, you must want me to take my heart back."

Sarah could plainly see his point, but that was besides the point that she was trying to make. "How do you know that I wouldn't like to be had and kept here? I could go back and forth, couldn't I?" She was protesting. Sarah paused as she noticed that. She was protesting the Goblin King's proposal that she give his heart back and be left alone for the rest of her days. Something was wrong with her, but she ignored it and pushed the thought away. Her calves rested across his thighs, and she drew no conclusion that she should be concerned about her position. It was as comfortable as she was going to get on these stone stairs, and she wasn't about to try walking again, not just yet. _Hormones_, she told herself. _Definitely hormones_.

"In theory, you could," he told her, "but as far as I know, you're the only human to have come _back_ to the Labyrinth. Most come once and never repeat their mistakes, and thus do not return. I'm not sure of the adverse effects, the possible consequences. I'm not sure your body could handle it, or your mind... The adjustment to the difference in time would be difficult as well." He at least was thinking about it, as Sarah noted. She liked the thoughtful look on his face. "I suppose we could try," he said at last. "So long as you understand that I have no idea what this could do to you and neither does anyone else, and that I cannot be held responsible if you happen to grow a second head." He smirked at her, and she laughed.

Nodding her head, Sarah shifted on the stonework as the bone in her back end began to protest from being pressed onto a hard surface for so long. Jareth got to his feet and offered her a hand. "Would you like to attempt to walk all the way back on your own, or shall I just carry you?" he proposed.

She thought about being prideful and stubborn and trying to walk again, but the stabbing pain in her ankle as she stood up made her think twice. Upon second thought, she decided against it and placed a hand on his shoulder nervously. "Could you carry me? Walking seems to be a hassle."

"As you wish," he said softly. He swept one arm beneath her knees and placed the other around her ribs, being very careful to keep his hands in appropriate places. He moved up the staircase and Sarah felt the graceful glide that she had seen so many times before. She didn't jar or move about at all, no bouncing or straying from her original position. It were as if he were walking on level ground.

Giving into the comfort of being carried like a child, Sarah laid her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. A lot had happened in only the span of a few days... The Labyrinth calling her back, going through the Labyrinth, whether it was alone or with Abernathy or Nathan... "Oh shit!" she said suddenly. "Abernathy and Nathan." She looked at Jareth as if expecting him to understand something that he knew nothing about. "Your mother is outside the gates, fighting off a huge snake. I don't know how long she's been out there though, and your little prince dude has got it in for me," she said seriously.

He half-smiled at her in the most teasing of ways and replied, "I don't have a prince."

"Not that you remember, maybe, but he says he's been here since just before I came and he, along with Copernicus, pretty much run things, I guess. I don't like either of them, they're bastards. They were mean to me." She nodded her head up and down jokingly. Jareth smiled, but seemed distracted now. "It might be a good idea to help her," she suggested softly as they left the room of stairs.

Jareth shrugged one shoulder. "I'm helping you first, Sarah. If there's one thing I'm sure about my mother, it's that she can take care of herself," he nodded his head slightly. "Besides, I'd like to see if this prince character that you're speaking of is going to try and come after you." He still seemed distracted, if not slightly frustrated.

She frowned. "But," she began, but Jareth silenced her with a look. She frowned, but leaned her head on his shoulder again and was quieted.


	13. Usurpers

Didn't I say I'd have a busy weekend? Busy busy busy... Understatement! Friday night I had a movie night with the girls, in which I showed them the movies Labyrinth and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, while they, in turn, brought Spaceballs (which I AM familiar with). That next morning, I had to be at a preparation day for next weekend's human relations camp. I picked up my best friend, Bri, immediately after the meeting and we played video games and watched movies until late at night as well (I Am Legend and Kill Bill vol. 2). I got bit by the I Am Legend fangirl bug, but I'm squashing it quickly. There's no proper way to write a canon story for that movie, which was fantastic btw. I'm a Will Smith fan. Last night, my boyfriend took me out to dinner at a fancy-schmancy steakhouse :). Today, I went to school, went glasses hunting, got home and watched Labyrinth TWICE to get my creative juices going, and here's the next chapter!

J/S fluff, followed by violence. Yay!

EDIT: Found a few contradicting errors, fixed 'em.

* * *

Jareth lay Sarah down on a bed larger than she had ever seen, except maybe in movies. It came up to Jareth's waist. She got comfortable against the plush pillows, laying against the mattress that felt as if it were made of cloud. She looked up at him, gazing really. She had never noticed before the color of his eyes. Frowning, she looked away. "Jareth..." she began.

"Yes, my pet?" he replied, smiling lightly at her.

She peered up at him and didn't know why, but she asked, "Lay with me?"

Raising a skeptical eyebrow, he asked, "I don't suppose you mean that in the biblical sense?" He sounded hopeful but still pessimistic.

Sarah laughed and blushed. "No, just lay down. Hold me."

He reached over and pulled up her eyelid to view her pupils, looking closely. "You didn't hit your head or eat another peach, did you?"

Again laughing, Sarah caught his hand between her two smaller hands. "No," she said firmly. "I just want to lay down with you. Please?" She jutted out her lower lip.

His eyebrows approached his hairline. "You're serious," he said in disbelief.

Sarah tugged on his hand. "Yes," she insisted. "I want to know what it feels like." Carefully, he obliged her. He clambered over her and lay to one side of her, unsure of how to continue, how to behave. "Relax," she murmured. She captured his hands, pulling him to her. She made herself comfortable and seemed to expect him to do the same. She lay her head on his shoulder, drawing an arm across his waist. It was comfortable. He put an arm around her shoulders, and touched her hair lightly. He searched her expression for discomfort or insult. Her eyes were closed and she smiled contentedly. He smiled and allowed himself the simple pleasure of holding Sarah. He stroked her hair and laid his nose against the top of her hair.

"I have dreamed of this," he murmured.

Yawning, Sarah admitted, "I used to pretend that he was you."

Flattered, he whispered quietly, "Sleep, love. You will be safe here." He stroked her hair in what he hoped was a comforting motion.

She gazed up at him, eyelids halfway closed. "Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked.

"If I am not, someone familiar will be. Now, sleep."

Again, she closed her eyes. She examined the internal feelings that the Goblin King instilled in her. Warmth, safety... something akin to... love? She dug into the last one cautiously, trying to remember the feelings of security that she had with Bryan. The two were considerably different, Jareth causing more fire in places that Bryan hadn't managed to reach. She dug into the feeling until she fell asleep.

Jareth held her for as long as he could get away with. Soon though, he heard echoed shouts of anger outside the chamber. With a disappointed sigh, he replaced himself with a pillow and closed the large doors behind him.

Abernathy came sprinting up the corridor, sweaty and bloody and with a sword in her hand. Her eyes brightened to see him. "Son!" she shouted, grabbing his shoulder and swinging herself around him. "He's trying to kill me, make him stop!" Nathan was in hot pursuit, a smaller sword in his hands as well, and he was spitting angry. He skidded to a halt a few yards away from Jareth and Abernathy. He panted, but collected himself and stood straight. He sheathed his sword and bowed low in the presence of the King.

"Majesty," he breathed, and swiped the sweat away from his brow with a quick motion of his hand.

The Goblin King crossed his arms and looked intimidating, settling an even glare on Nathan's face. His attention left Nathan, and he set about producing a crystal. He was rather out of practice with it, but he managed one, and held it out to Abernathy. "Go and fetch Copernicus as well. Give him this and he shouldn't give you any trouble."

She nodded her head and walked back down the corridor, giving herself a wide berth between she and Nathan, eying him in expectation of some kind of harassment. He only growled at her under his breath, but kept his eyes on Jareth, unsure of what his actions might receive as punishment.

Jareth watched as Abernathy rounded the corner. He then looked hard at Nathan, and Nathan's face was like stone, schooled to silence and ambiguity. Jareth turned on a heel. "Follow me, usurper," he snapped. Nathan frowned at the insult, but did as he was told, knowing that his reign in the Labyrinth was fairly well over. He was led into the throne room. Jareth was angry to see it spotless. Usually it was littered with the leftovers of goblin play, a tattered mess of fun and games. Now, it was just dusty. He wasn't entirely sure if this was his own fault or the fault of Nathan and Copernicus, so he was silent. He waved a hand at his throne, drawing all of the dust and cobwebs away from it before he sat heavily in it, lounging comfortably.

Nathan stood awkwardly in the center of the room, near the roasting pit in the center that hadn't been used for an actual roast dinner in a very long time. He looked around the room and watched the Goblin King, still unsure of his punishment. "I was only caring for the kingdom during your absence," he began to protest.

"Silence," Jareth replied disinterestedly. "I will hear your protests when your partner in crime has arrived. He should be here shortly."

Ducking his head, he replied, "Yes, Majesty."

Abernathy came strolling in, leading Copernicus. Copernicus walked in with his head held high, slightly taller and more rotund than Sir Didymus had been. He looked stubborn and angry. "What's the meaning of this?" he demanded. "Why have I been summoned by a king of whom I have no knowledge?"

"Please excuse him, Majesty," Nathan rushed. "He was appointed after your..." he struggled for a proper word to describe what had gone on and finally ended with, "departure." He shot a silencing look at Copernicus, who just looked back at him scornfully.

Copernicus continued, "There hasn't been a king here for a hundred years because this brat can't find himself a proper bride. You sit upon a throne that doesn't belong to you. Remove yourself, usurper."

"I could say the same of you," Jareth growled at him.

He began to draw his sword.

Jareth settled an even gaze upon him. "I would not suggest that," he said, and his voice was like ice. "Nathan, kindly inform this idiot of my standings."

As he was told, Nathan stalked backward to Copernicus' side and hissed at him quickly. Jareth didn't bother to try and hear any of it. He found his old riding crop that had been sitting gray, covered in dust. He sat up and dusted it off, tapping it against the side of his boot. Only Abernathy recognized it as a sign of serious agitation. She took a large step in the direction of the door. Copernicus finally sniffed at Nathan, and sheathed his sword. "If what this boy says is true, where has the girl he spoke of gone off to?" he asked.

"That," Jareth snapped, "is none of your business, steward. She is to be treated with more respect than you can possibly summon."

"What woman could possibly demand that kind of respect?" the steward demanded with a roll of his eyes.

The Goblin King snapped the riding crop against the leather of his boot, and both Nathan and Copernicus jumped. Abernathy took another step towards the door. "A Goblin Queen," he snarled, baring his teeth. Copernicus and Nathan both looked taken aback, surprised and a little worried for their positions.

Copernicus protested, "But she is mortal."

"That is of no concern of yours," Jareth replied flatly, and then continued, "and if you do not cease to ask such questions of me, I will remove you of your position." Flabbergasted that anyone would question his authority, Copernicus began to argue again, but Jareth spoke over him. "In fact," he said loudly, "being that there is a King to rule the throne, there is no need of a steward. You are dismissed." The fox stood there for a solid minute, staring at the Goblin King in disbelief. Not only had he never been spoken to in such a manner before, but he had just lost his job. He growled and turned to storm out of the room. Jareth called in a disinterested voice, "Leave your sword." Copernicus threw it into the throne room from the corridor, and it landed with a metallic sound against the bricks behind the throne, embedding itself enough to hang there.

After watching the sword vibrate as its motion was ended, Jareth then turned to Nathan. "You seem to know the importance of obedience, boy," he said slowly. "However, my queen has informed me that you threatened her on several occasions and kidnapped her sister."

"She was wished away," Nathan protested.

Jareth snapped the riding crop again. "Do not lie to me, Nathan, that will get you a very hasty removal. I have heard of what happens to every child that has been wished away in the past century during my absence, and you would not do that to Sarah's younger sister. Not where she could be found by Sarah in the Labyrinth. You aren't stupid either. Where is the girl?" He stared Nathan down with mismatched eyes.

Giving a huff, Nathan relinquished the key to the door that would lead to the oubliette that Sarah's sister was currently occupying. Jareth backhanded him across the face and sent him to the floor as he learned where she had been kept. "You insolent child," he growled. "Children are to be taken care of, not discarded for later use! If the child has suffered any negative side effects of your placement of her, I do hope you will be prepared for a much harsher punishment besides the one that you may anticipate for allowing my work to go undone, for allowing that unwanted children would die!"

Abernathy cleared her throat. Jareth's head snapped up to her. "What?" he growled.

"Please remember, son, that he's a child too," she said softly. "Look at him."

Angry, but careful to heed his mother's word, he looked at the child. His face fell as he saw that Nathan was doing his best not to let a tear fall in the Goblin King's presence, not to appear weak, but to appear strong as well as obedient and subservient. "He is not a child," Jareth said mildly. "He's had the experience of a century's life... but he has had it alone, and that just will not do." He sighed and put his hands on his hips. "I suppose I'll just have to teach him how to be a proper heir then."

Surprised, Nathan's head jerked upward and stared as Jareth retreated further into the castle. "Listen to my mother, boy. I'm going to fetch the girl."


	14. Sylvie

Jareth set out of the castle on foot. The few goblins that still remained in the city gave him a wide, awed berth. They bowed as he passed and stared as he walked away. He seemed angry, and they weren't entirely sure of why. Most of them couldn't remember the last time that they had seen him, only that he was their King. Hoggle was busy helping another goblin carry his groceries home, but nearly dropped the basket he was carrying on his foot as he spotted Jareth. He immediately set the basket down and gave a low bow. "Majesty," he whispered.

"Hoggle, come with me. I'm in need of your assistance." He didn't look at Hoggle or really acknowledge him, but he did use his proper name. Hoggle knew he meant business. Giving a quick apology to the goblin he was helping, he scurried after the King, struggling on a bum leg and a cane, but catching up. Jareth glanced at him as he came up to his side. "Inform me, Hoggle. How is the city? Worse or better than it looks?"

He sighed, and fell back into the informant position. "Worse. The people put on smiles for you, because they believe you will fix things, but Copernicus and Nathan are tyrants. They've had a curfew for the past few years."

The Goblin King snorted. "A curfew? For what purpose?"

"Copernicus was sure that the decay of the Labyrinth was due to some kind of goblin mischief," he said with a shrug. "A stupid idea, but the people had little choice."

Slowly, Jareth calmed himself and then asked, "Has he killed any of them?"

Hoggle snorted. "Lynched one just last week," he replied.

Jareth stopped in his tracks, furious. He looked down at Hoggle. "Since when is there a gallows in my city?!" he demanded.

Knowing the anger wasn't pointed at him, Hoggle only shrugged his shoulders. "They built one. Scare tactic," he replied calmly.

The Goblin King placed his hand on his forehead, rage settling into self-disappointment and shame. "I will tear it down with my bear hands. I will make this right." He took a deep breath and then addressed Hoggle. "I'm going into the Labyrinth. You will accompany me enough to escort Sarah's sister back to the castle, and then I will continue on my own. I'm not entirely sure how long I will be gone, but Sarah and my mother will be in charge while I am gone, and I want that fact clear."

"Crystal, Sire," Hoggle replied with a nod. "If I may ask, where is Sarah now?"

He smiled. "She sleeps. She has had a hard few days, she needs her rest. I expect you to be there when she awakens, to inform her of my whereabouts. I promised her someone familiar would be there, and I assume that you fit the bill. Be sure her sister is well taken care of as well."

"Yes, Majesty," he said with a nod of his head.

Hours later, Hoggle escorted six-year-old Sylvie through the Goblin City. She had a lolly pop in her hand. That and remembering him from Sarah's stories were the only reasons she trusted him. She was dirty but not hungry, but there were stark trails down her face where tears had removed the grime. Hoggle was ready to kill Nathan just as much as Jareth was, but he held his tongue as they passed him in the castle. Abernathy was with him at a dining table, probably teaching him about dinner etiquette. Nathan didn't even look at them, though Sylvie subtly moved from one side of Hoggle to the farther side, the one away from Nathan.

He brought her up the stairs and knew Sarah must have been still asleep. He brought Abernathy past her chamber and into another one with a great big bath. "Do you know how to swim, Sylvie?" he asked hopefully.

"Yup," she replied with a grin. "Sarah taught me."

Hoggle nodded his head. "Good, good," he cooed. "Now, Sarah's here in the castle."

Sylvie's eyes widened. "Really?" she said excitedly.

He nodded again. "Really," he assured her. "But she's sleeping right now. So while she's sleeping, how about we get you into a bath? It's big enough to swim in." He pointed at the gigantic tub in the middle of the room.

The little girl clapped her hands. "I've never seen one so big before," she said excitedly.

Smiling, he told her, "Alright. Give me a moment and I'll have Abernathy come in to help you, how does that sound?"

She frowned. "I don't know who that is," she said nervously.

Hoggle nodded. "She's a good friend of mine, she's very nice."

Scuffling the floor, she said, "Okay."

He left the room and called, "Abernathy!" down the hallway. She came down the hallway quickly, and looked down at him expectantly. "Help the girl with her bath?" He opened the door and showed Sylvie waiting patiently, tracing patterns on the wood of the basin.

Abernathy shot Hoggle a dirty look. "How'd you know children are my weak spot?" she said jokingly. "If I watch her, you've got to watch the other one."

"Here's hoping I don't clock him," Hoggle said cheerfully, heading down the hallway to go and sit with Nathan.

She laughed and went into the room. After introducing herself and winning the girl's trust, Abernathy helped Sylvie undress and get into the bath, handing her soap and cloth to clean herself with, shampoo, and finally a towel. Then they went to the large vanity at the other end of the room. Abernathy set the girl down on the stool, and went to a large chest of drawers. She removed proper undergarments that Sylvie would be used to and handed them to her, and then returned to the drawers and brought more undergarments that would be required underneath the dresses that were in the drawers. Once finished, she went back to the drawers. She looked at Sylvie with a grin. "Ever dream of being a princess, Sylvie?" she asked.

Sylvie nodded her head, drying her hair with the towel now. "Oh, all the time!" she replied.

Removing a little yellow dress, Abernathy held it up for Sylvie's inspection. Sylvie put a hand on her chin and looked at it this way and that before she shook her head. Abernathy went through all of the basic colors until she finally came to a light blue one that Sylvie squealed at. She smiled and helped the girl get into the dress that she had chosen, and then choose stockings and shoes. Sylvie kicked her feet as Abernathy sat her down at the vanity to do her hair.

Combing Sylvie's hair out slowly, Abernathy smiled wistfully. She had had fourteen children of her own, though most of them had died in infancy. Her first husband died and she married the childless King of the Underground, who mainly wanted her for her children. They became royalty by default. Through the last two thousand years, war had killed them or they had found mortal lovers and gone topside to be with them. Jareth and his older brother were the only ones she had left, and they were very far from children. She wished she could have more children, but she knew that was out of the question. The King was childless only because he couldn't father his own, being unfaithful to a king was asking to be hanged. She sighed, tying a ribbon around the top half of Sylvie's hair. The ribbon exactly matched the dress she wore.

"All finished," Abernathy declared, and stepped away from the girl. "Come look at yourself in the big mirrors." She took Sylvie's hand and led her to the wall mirrors that showed most angles.

The little girl turned this way and that, inspecting herself with a smile on her face that showed her first missing tooth, a molar near the end of her smile. "I look like Alice in Wonderland!" she said excitedly and giggled. Abernathy tilted her head to the side and looked at her. She had no idea what she was talking about, since the only Alice in Wonderland she knew of was a book, but she just nodded and agreed with her to make her happy. Sylvie hugged Abernathy and thanked her for making her look so pretty. She looked up at her and asked, "Can we go see Sarah now?"

Abernathy shrugged her shoulders. "We can go and see if she's still awake," she offered. Sylvie nodded and took Abernathy's hand as she led back towards the chamber that Sarah was asleep in. Hoggle was inside, writing in the kingdom's ledger, the book that held most of the history of the kingdom, from the day that the first King was appointed, all throughout Jareth's reign. It was in hundreds of different handwritings, the latest Hoggle's, and the one before it was the Wiseman's. Hoggle wondered who would get it next.

As Sylvie came into the room, she stood before Hoggle and twirled. He smiled. "Oh what a beautiful princess you would make," he said brightly.

Sylvie smiled and said, "Thank you." She looked around the room and spotted her sister on the bed. She had been sleeping for awhile now. Hoggle encouraged her towards the bed with a hand gesture. Abernathy sat at the table across from him. Sylvie struggled to climb onto the bed, but somehow made it, and crawled over to the sleeping Sarah. She took a deep breath and then forced it out through clenched lips, making an elephantine sound.

Sarah jumped, sitting up and staring at Sylvie. For a moment, the image didn't make sense, but then she recognized this little girl in a princess' clothing was her sister. "Sylvie!" she cried, and drew her into a hug. "I missed you so much." Sarah tried not to cry, not wanting to alarm the little girl.

She giggled and hugged her sister back, giving her a squeeze. Then she pulled away and stood up. "How do I look, Sarah? Like Alice in Wonderland?" she asked hopefully. The opinion of her sister mattered more than that of herself, Abernathy, or Hoggle.

Only Sarah fully understood the notion of looking like Alice in Wonderland. "Yes, you do," she said softly. "You look beautiful." She smiled lightly, wondering just how far down the rabbit hole Sylvie had gone, just how much she would remember, just how much she would be able to forget.


	15. Punishment

Just so you know, I'm not going to be home at all this weekend until 5 PM on Sunday evening. I'm going to a human relations camp, and I really doubt that I'll have much energy to devote to writing when I get home. If I do, I will post a chapter, but don't count on one until Monday.

I'm still working out the kinks of Nathan's character. If you notice any inconsistencies, please let me know. Same goes for Jareth and Hoggle, though Jareth is slightly more schizo and I mean to make him that way. I went back and changed a few things in previous chapters, mainly some wording and lines that contradicted the later story or characters' previous knowledge, nothing big.

Enjoy the beginning of the J/S conflict. :D

* * *

Sarah lay before a warm fire, lounging across a sofa with Sylvie asleep against her. She stroked the little girl's hair as she thought. The dim sun had set and there were stars out that Sarah could see through the gauzy curtains that covered the nearby window. Hoggle had told her where Jareth had gone off to, and then he and Abernathy had left to go and round up some goblins to clean up the castle and return it to the way that Jareth liked it. She could hear them rummaging around now, in every room except for the chamber that Sarah had slept in, the chamber that Sylvie had become a princess in, and Jareth's, upon Sarah's request. Sylvie mumbled in her sleep and shifted around again. Nightmares. Sarah hummed a lullaby at her, and smiled.

She heard the door open and waited patiently for someone to announce themselves. The door closed behind them, and Sarah got slightly nervous. She heard footsteps, and was increasingly nervous. She would have sat up to see for herself, but that would have moved Sylvie, who was already having trouble sleeping. Nathan walked into the firelight at the end of the sofa she was lying on, staring at Sarah and Sylvie.

Staring right back at him defiantly, Sarah wondered if he was actually stupid enough to do something to them. Jareth wouldn't be gone for very long, Hoggle had said, and if he returned to find either Sarah or Sylvie harmed, there would be hell to pay. Nathan looked down at her ankle, which had been wrapped by a goblin who had dreamed of being a doctor, and then shook his head, going and sitting down in the armchair nearer to the fire.

"What do you want, Nathan?" she asked quietly.

He replied just as quietly, "From you? Nothing. I came to apologize for kidnapping your sister, and for being rude to you as I was." He glanced at her for a reply, but received none but an even stare. "I just... I wanted to fix things. I didn't like the way Copernicus was doing things, but I couldn't argue with him either. Steward outranks prince unless the prince is a named heir, which I am not. I tried to fix it on my own, tried talking to him or showing him what was going on in the city, but none of it worked. Hoggle told me about you, the only one that Jareth had had continuous contact with in the Labyrinth, the one that had made him the way he is now after leaving. I thought maybe you could fix things. So I took Sylvie without her being wished away and locked her away in a oubliette so no one would know what I'd done. I fed her, but she was unaccompanied and I apologize for scaring her so much, I know I did."

Sylvie whined in her dream again. Sarah hummed at her, stroking her hair and cooing at her in comfort. She looked up at Nathan. "You did what you thought you needed to. Made a few bad decisions along the way, but it worked, didn't it?" She sighed, not entirely too happy with what she was saying. This boy had endangered her little sister, given her nightmares, and dragged both of them to the Underground. She continued, "If Jareth hasn't yet removed you from the castle, then I suppose I can trust you. Abernathy says you're not as stupid as you've acted, just desperate. I can understand desperation." She smiled at him.

Nathan smirked lightly and drew his legs up beneath him to sit cross-legged on the chair. "My father used to always tell me that I would never amount to anything. When he wished me away, I dreamed of being the most powerful thing that I could get away with – a prince, and that's what I became. I was open for Jareth's training, and he did do some before he dove off the deep end. When he did, I took the responsibility of the kingdom onto me. I wasn't a named heir, but I was still the prince that Jareth had begun to train. I thought I could handle it. Sir Didymus did a lot of things under my nose, things that I had no idea about. When he died, his son, Copernicus, took over, and he started to do more things under my nose, but I started paying more attention and I figured out what he was doing. By the time I pulled my head out of my ass enough to see it, I couldn't do anything about it. He'd become more powerful than me. I wanted to bring Jareth out of it on my own, and I tried. I tried talking to him, pleading, begging, bargaining... He never even looked at me. So I asked Hoggle for his help, and he told me about you. I loathed the idea of needing someone else's help to get Jareth, and I stalled. I didn't want to. And then Copernicus started lynching goblins, and I knew I couldn't be selfish anymore. People were dying. So I took your sister there, knowing that you would know exactly where she'd gone, and you'd come without a fight. I had meant to catch you at the front gates and explain things to you, but you called Hoggle. Hoggle didn't know anything about what I'd done, and sent you right into the Labyrinth, thinking that I would be angry if you were magicked into the castle. He did mean me, not Jareth. The old dwarf was so afraid of me that he failed to explain to you entirely. I believe he may be approaching senility as well... However, I do apologize for taking your sister. It was wrong of me to put her in the oubliette when I could have had her taken care of."

Despite herself, Sarah shrugged. "You were desperate. You did what you thought you needed to do. I can understand that," she told him, and smiled at him.

He nodded his head. "Thank you," he said softly. He looked at the portrait of Jareth above the mantle. It was a glorious exaggeration of his appearance, his hair a little wilder, his eyes a little more different, small things that you wouldn't be able to notice unless you knew him well like Sarah and Nathan. He asked, "Are you really a goblin queen?"

"Where did you hear that from?" she asked, and laughed. Nathan jerked a thumb at the big portrait. She rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not. I imagine Jareth would like me to become one, but I'm not. I'm just an average girl. The only thing I have going for me is my ability to write novels that sell well, and the fact that I'm one of the few who made it through the Labyrinth. That's it." She shrugged her shoulders and looked down at Sylvie and frowned. "I should get her home," she murmured.

Glancing at the window, Nathan said, "He won't like that."

She shrugged. "He's not here," she replied. "Besides, I'll come back soon. I just need to get her home so Karen and Dad won't be too disturbed by her disappearance." Nathan cringed, thinking it was a shot at him. She got up, carrying Sylvie against one shoulder with practiced ease, despite the child's weight. "Don't worry, Nathan. I think I can right it all." He only nodded his head.

Sarah wished she and Sylvie home, into her room. She checked the time. She had only been gone for a few hours, according to the clock, and she didn't hear anything in the house. It was four in the morning, so that was understandable. She took Sylvie upstairs and dressed her in her pajamas, laying her in bed. "I wish she would believe that all of her time in the Underground was a dream," she whispered. Sylvie frowned and twisted in her bed, but fell back into a deeper sleep. She went to her parents' door and whispered again, "I wish Karen, Toby, and my father remember me taking Sylvie out to a movie for the night instead of her being kidnapped. I wish Sylvie would remember the movie too." She thought her wishes over, and nodded her head. They all sounded plausible enough.

Going back into her room, she slept heavily, her dreams littered with crystals and goblin kings that she could never quite focus on. In the morning, she was dead on her feet. Sylvie was babbling to Karen about the movie that she and Sarah had seen, and Sarah quickly caught onto the title, glad that she had actually already seen it. Toby looked jealous that he hadn't gone to see a movie yet, and Sarah just ruffled his hair and promised to take him next time. After breakfast, Karen took the kids upstairs to get ready for school, and Robert left for work. Karen left to take the two of them, leaving Sarah home alone.

Calmly, she sipped her coffee and turned a page in her newspaper. She felt him behind her, but preferred to let him think that he was being sneaky. He leaned over her, extending one arm so that it touched hers, his hand falling next to hers on the table and he whispered into her ear, "Hiding from me, Sarah?" He sounded angry and hurt.

"No, Jareth," she replied. "Giving my parents some sense of normalcy." She looked up at him. "I was about to go and pack up to go back, if you would've given me a little more time to myself." She ignored the arm and the hand, even when his thumb lifted and caressed the side of her palm. "I haven't been gone for that long," she protested.

Jareth frowned. "You've forgotten the difference in the passage of time, darling," he told her. "You've been gone for two days."

Surprised, Sarah looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she said earnestly. "I didn't mean to be gone for so long." She got up and rinsed out her coffee cup. "I'll leave right after I take a shower. Give me a few more hours, alright? I'll be back soon." He looked skeptical. She stopped with her hand on the doorknob of her room. "If I'm not there in four hours, you can come back and take whatever punishment on me that you'd like." He seemed delighted at that idea, and disappeared without a trace. She smirked and rushed down into her bedroom, picking out clothes and packing a bag. She called Karen and told her that a friend of hers wanted her to stay over for a few days because she'd had a nasty break-up. Karen understood.

Sarah took her shower and dressed in comfortable clothes. She came across the dress that Sylvie had been wearing the day before and frowned. She folded it carefully and put it in the hope chest that sat at the end of her bed in the basement, where Sylvie wouldn't find it. They weren't allowed into the basement unless Sarah was home. As she was tying her shoes, Jareth rounded the corner of one shelf of books. She jumped, having not heard or felt him this time. "I was about to leave," she said.

"It's been four hours," he replied shortly.

She checked her watch and did the math, and cursed. It'd been a half an hour. He'd even given her a little extra time. She looked up at him apologetically. He advanced on her slowly, like a lion. She gave him a warning look. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Taking that punishment that you promised me," he told her. Her eyes narrowed, and she tried to be open-minded and calm, but she was pretty sure what he wanted.

As he came close enough, she stopped him with a hand on his chest. "Not too much, Jareth. Don't ruin it."

"As you wish," he replied. He took her hand in his gloved hands, and touched it to his cheek, rubbing against her skin with his eyes closed. He ran the tips of his fingers along her bare arm to her shoulder, and pulled her up against him. She was working hard to control her breathing. "Relax, Sarah. I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered.

She struggled with her reply, forcing out, "Why don't I believe you?"

Snarling, he threw her hand down and took a few quick paces away. He stared at her angrily for a moment and then disappeared. She shook from the loss of his touch and fell back hard on the couch. For a few minutes, she considered not returning at all, if that was the way he was going to be. She sighed and tied on her shoes, and wished herself into the castle.


	16. Limbo

**WOW **that took a long time to write.

Here's what happened.

Last Wednesday, I moved my room from one to the other, all the way across the house. Somewhere in the course of moving, I fractured one of the little bones in the ball of my foot, without really noticing it. If it's not bad enough, it can go untreated and never bother you. Then, that weekend, I went to CCEJ Camp (which invariably SUCKED) and went on a 5 AM, 3-mile, uphill hike. I made it all the way to the top, making my tiny fracture about ten times worse. My foot was swollen and purple by the time I called my mom to take me to the doc's on Monday morning. The ER doc said that they couldn't really see anything on the x-ray, but according to the pain and swelling, they wrapped it in an ACE bandage, told me to ice it, gave me a post-op boot and a pair of crutches (which also invariably suck). They told me to take some Advil, and if it was still hurting on Wednesday that I needed to get to a podiatrist.

It was still hurting on Wednesday, so we made an appointment for this morning. Earlier this morning, I saw the podiatrist who felt around my foot and determined that there was probably a fracture that they couldn't see by the angle of the x-rays. Instead of taking more and costing us extra money, they treated it according to the pain, which was significant of a fracture, and gave me the options of moon-boot, staying with what I had, or cast. I totally chose a cast because I haven't had one since the fifth grade and they seem to be all the rage at school right now. It's bright red, and I can still walk on it, which is a good thing because my arms are still recovering from Wednesday's use of crutches. My hands are bruised still! And so I have a cast on my leg.

This doesn't explain why it's taken me a week to post. CCEJ camp threw off my groove in a lot of things. I haven't been even acting the same way since the camp rubbed me so wrongly. The administration and I had a very serious miscommunication/disagreement that wound up being a negative for me simply because I'm lower on the totem pole than they are. That plus my foot have had me seriously off-kilter. Rather than writing or drawing, I've taken to watching movies and reading instead. I'm currently reading the online posting of ACH Smith's print of the Labyrinth, and I'm looking into buying the Return to Labyrinth mangas... but those cost money, which I'm severely lacking of. Next paycheck from babysitting will be dedicated to baking items like vanilla extract and flour, since I'm running short on both, and I've been doing lots of baking lately.

In other news, today my boyfriend and I celebrated our six-month anniversary. :) Milestone #2 in my eyes, since most of the guys that I date don't really last past a month... Enough about me. To the chapter!

Plus: Small amount of Sarah, screentime for Abernathy & Jareth  
Minus: New questions raised about Jareth and what the hell he is...

Enjoy!

* * *

Sarah stumbled and held her head as she appeared in the throne room. Jareth was nowhere in sight, but several goblins rushed forth to help her. She groaned and didn't even notice them. Her vision was black, and she opened her eyes and whispered, "Jareth," before she collapsed. The goblins shrieked and wailed, unsure of what was going on. Some of the smarter goblins scampered away from the throne room to find the Goblin King. He would know what to do, and why Sarah had fallen over so suddenly.

Jareth sat in the gardens just outside of the goblin city, not far into the Labyrinth. He was fixing some plants, returning life to their brown branches and adding greenery where necessary. He appeared to be a conductor of sorts, but more violent. He thrashed his arms this way and that, spreading color and life in the wake of his gloved hands. He snarled and spat, angry that Sarah was so mistrustful of him and apparently angry at his forward advances. Why had she decided to stay if she wasn't at least somewhat interested? He dropped his hands and glared at a wall of the Labyrinth, suddenly deciding that it was the Labyrinth's fault. If it hadn't been for the Labyrinth and its connection to his heart, there would be no problem. He sighed and shook his head. "No, it's my own fault," he grumbled. "I should have never given her the power of words." He scuffed the ground with his boot.

"Majesty! Lord Jareth! Sire! Sire!"

He rolled his eyes upward to hear several panicking goblins come rushing towards him. "What is it?" he ground out. "Can't you see that I'm busy?" He looked down at them disdainfully.

The goblins grabbed at his clothing, pushing and pulling and leading him back towards the castle, each squabbling on about something. Jareth heard Sarah's name mentioned, and he grabbed one of the smaller goblins. "What has happened to her?" he roared in its face, stalking towards the castle of his own volition now.

Shaking like a leaf, the goblin replied in a very frightened and high-pitched voice, "She appeared in the throne room and collapsed!"

Tossing the goblin to the ground, he took a leap into the air and became an owl, flying all the way to the castle in record time, coming in through a window and gliding to the ground beside Sarah. He touched a hand to her face and breathed, "Sarah..."

* * *

Hours later, Abernathy replaced the cool cloth against Sarah's forehead. Sarah groaned and coughed, but would not wake up. She looked sympathetically at Jareth and said softly, "It's the travel."

"What?" he said disinterestedly, his hands twined around hers.

Abernathy snapped her fingers in front of his face until he looked at her, irritated but subservient to his mother. "The travel, Jareth. Jumping between worlds. Humans can't do it like we can, they don't have the magic in their blood like we do. Her magic is borrowed from you, and even so, you only gave her a limited amount. She's overexerting herself too much." She stared at her son. "She can't stay here."

His face twisted. "Don't say that," he pleaded, and put one hand over his forehead.

"I must say it, Jareth," she replied insistently. "She must choose, or she will die. She can't go between worlds forever. She can't do it for much longer, judging by her current condition."

Jareth stared balefully at Sarah's feverish face. He knew his mother was right. He was surprised that she had had enough magic to wish herself and her sister back to their own world, plus making sure that none of them remembered that Sylvie had gone missing, and then wishing herself back to the Underground. He put a hand on his chin and frowned. "She's done too much for today, I agree, but... Perhaps she could build up an endurance." He looked up at his mother curiously.

She threw her arms into the air. "Your guess is as good as mine, Jareth. Humans have never done this before, save for a few times, but most of them die upon their second or third return! This is her third, Jareth, and look at what it has done to her. She will not be able to do this again. She must choose."

"I could perform the magic for her," he offered hopefully.

His mother delivered a powerful blow to the back of his head. "It's not the magic, Jareth! It's the _travel_ from _plane_ to _plane_. We exist in different worlds, entirely separated from each other. The gravity, the atmosphere, the weather cycles, everything here is different. The adjustment throws their entire bodies off kilter. They get sick. One trip, they will bounce back easily. Given enough time to recover from the first, the second might be fine as well. Two trips within a day is _insane_. She could be dead!" Abernathy stopped and looked at the pale girl on the bed, and scoffed. "She should be dead." She looked harshly at Jareth. "You must inform her of her choice as soon as she awakens, Jareth. You must."

He sighed and looked down into his lap. "I can't, Mother..." he whispered.

Again, she hit him upside the head. "Why not? Why can't you inform this poor girl that she must choose between her world or yours?"

"Because she will choose her own!" he shouted. Sarah stirred, and he got to his feet and paced away from the bed angrily. "She will choose her own. I know she will. Why should she stay here, with me? Her family, her friends, everything she has ever cared about is back in her own world." He sighed and ran a hand back through his hair. "Regardless of my love for her, everything that she loves is there. She would not stay just for a fool's love, especially a love that she does not, and perhaps cannot, return." He looked at his mother in the eye, his own shining with tears that he would not allow to fall, and said mournfully, "Why should she stay?"

Abernathy recognized his anguish and sighed. She crossed the room and took one of his hands in her own. "You shield yourself so much, Jareth," she said quietly, and removed his glove while he quietly protested. She silenced him with a subtle glance, and tossed the glove to the ground. His hand was blackened as if dipped into charcoal. "You hide yourself, your feelings, your thoughts... It is the most horrible way to get people to love and trust you, and I thought I taught you that... Your father may have had too large a hand in your raising, perhaps." She drew her index finger down the palm of his hand, which was completely normal aside from being black. The fingernails were tinted black beneath the nail, with only a hint of healthy flesh shining through. His knuckles were swollen from the childhood fascination with the sound that a joint makes when it's popped. His palm was smooth and unblemished. She sighed. "This is only one of the things that you hide, Jareth. The most obvious thing. A deformity, as you so choose to call it, and hide it. She would stay if you would confide in her, build trust and an actual relationship rather than expecting her to swoon and fall into your arms like all the other girls that you've encountered. She's not like those other girls, Jareth. She's human." She looked up at him sympathetically and dropped his hand. He didn't reach for his glove on the ground, but stared at it.

His eyes stayed on the floor for a long time. Abernathy left him standing there, going back and attending Sarah. She was feverish and whimpered in her sleep now. Abernathy was no doctor, and had no knowledge of herbs in the area. She couldn't help Sarah any more than she could make her comfortable. Jareth raised his eyes to her still form on the bed. "You're right, Mother," he murmured. She looked at him with raised, questioning eyebrows. "She is only human... She expects trust, confidence... romance..." He trailed off and stared at the girl, frowning worriedly.

"Everything that our kind is really horrible at," Abernathy replied sympathetically. She leaned against the bedpost. "Being royalty takes its toll on the personality, Jareth. You're closed, calculated, and cautious. You think about everything, and hide everything even better, because any little thing that gets out may get to your enemies. You trust no one and remain distant You're used to having women fall at your feet for just being who you are, but Sarah won't do that. She's human and they're used to togetherness. They cultivate families for love and support. I may have raised my children that way," here, Jareth snorted. She glared at him, and continued, "but years of being king has desensitized you." She sighed and looked back at Sarah, who lay motionless on the bed. "I can only hope that you can trust her, Jareth." She began to walk away from the bed, punctuating her steps with each piece of advice to her son. "_Trust_ in her, _confide_ in her, _be kind_ to her, and _respect_ her, and maybe... **just** maybe, you could make this work." She shut the door behind her with a quiet _click_.

Jareth slowly walked across the room. He removed his other glove and tossed it down near the first that had made it to the floor. He set his hands on the edge of the bed, staring down at her face. He kissed her forehead gently and found it hot, then slipped an arm beneath her sweating neck. He lifted her up and joined her on the bed, laying alongside her and putting his arms around her. He put his head atop hers, feeling the softness of her hair. "I am so selfish," he murmured down at her. "I would have you stay here and die in ignorance rather than you live and leave me." He rubbed his cheek along her hair like a great cat. "I would have you forced to love me until the end of time." He ran a hand along her side, the bones of her ribs down to her hip, and finally coming to rest on the topside of her hipbone just above her thigh. He stared down at her, and his eyes shone again. "I would have you trust me," he whispered. "But," he said slowly, leaning down to speak in her ear, "I will have you live. If not for me, then for yourself. For your brother and your sister. For your parents... For your friends... None of them are here, Sarah, and you should not be here. You do not belong here." He sighed, and lifted his blackened hand through her hair to feel its softness against his actual fingers for the first time. "You do not belong with me."

The girl in his arms stirred, upset and with a worrying frown. "Don't say that..." she murmured, only half-awake. She turned her face towards him, nestling her cheek along his collarbone. She sighed and fell into another rough sleep. Jareth stayed with her until her fever broke and she awoke the next morning.


	17. Molestation

Wee... Updating regularly again, and I know where the train is headed. There were a few places where it could've branched off, but I've pruned those and now the train is headed in just one, solid direction. No ifs ands or buts, so I won't be changing the plot. That's another reason why it took me so long to update, I wasn't sure of exactly where I would've liked to have gone in the story. Now I know.

Anticipate daily chapters, but I promise nothing!

* * *

Sarah was blissfully comfortable as she began to stir awake. Her head felt as if it were filled with dandelions – dandelions caught in cobwebs made of cotton. She didn't want to shake away the feeling though. She was being held, and she was in a far more cozy bed than she had ever owned. She felt warm and loved and happy for the first time in a long time. She settled closer into the arms of her lover and nestled her head against his collarbone, thrusting an arm between his and his ribs to wrap around his torso and pull herself closer. He made a small sound of agreement and coddled her closer with his arms. She didn't even bother to open her eyes, using touch as her first sense, hearing second.

And then the scent hit her. It was wonderful. He smelled earthy, manly, and fantastic, like nothing she had ever smelled before. Perhaps she had, but never this close. She lifted her chin a little further to bury her nose in his throat where the scent seemed more pungent, and tried to sort out what it could smell like. Some kind of wood, definitely, mixed with the scent of flat, good soil – not manure, but _soil_. Dirt. The good kinds, the untouched kinds that you could find in a vast back yard where no one had ever really ventured before. He smelled warm and fresh, like freshly baked wheat bread, if its feeling could be packaged into a scent. He smelled like Santa Claus, like the Easter Bunny, like Bigfoot, like Chupacabra... something adventurous and possibly fake, like a bubble that would instantly pop if she poked at it too much, but not like soap. Sarah frowned as she had trouble describing the scent. It was always so easy to describe scents on paper, but that was when she had made them up. Men always smelled like a mixture of two things – sandalwood and musk for example. The scent she was experiencing at the moment was several things rolled into one and incredibly hard to describe.

In efforts to get a better scent, she sighed and pressed herself closer, trailing the tip of her nose along his neck. He seemed to chuckle lightly, making her jump. She didn't open her eyes, but began dusting away the dandelions and cobwebs in her mind to try and remember how and why she had gotten to where she was. Perhaps she could pretend that she was still asleep, that all of this was some psychosis that she had no control over.

"I know you're awake, Sweet," he purred in her ear.

To her great dismay, Sarah opened her eyes. Instead of a huge, plumed collar, there was a simple pull-over shirt with an opening large enough to show a wide expanse of his pale chest. She wasn't sure what he was wearing as far as pants went, but she could tell that he was indeed wearing something. She felt her cheeks blush as she realized exactly who she had been molesting with her nose. They brightened as she remembered the effort she had put into isolating and identifying the intoxicating scent, and she ducked her head down.

The Goblin King kissed the top of her head, his arms still wound around her loosely, enough to move about freely but still tight enough to feel secure. "I am glad you're awake, Sarah," he said softly. "I was... We were worried about you." He cleared his throat and tightened his hold on her.

Sarah lifted her head and looked at him. "I don't remember getting here," she said pointedly.

He frowned at her. "Don't make me sound like such a rapist," he said coldly, and then warmed up again as he closed his eyes. He reopened his eyes and looked at her, resting his head fully on the pillow, tilting it at an unnatural angle. "You wished yourself to the castle, Sarah, of your own volition after ensuring that Sylvie was safe in bed and that no one would remember a thing, aside from yourself. You collapsed in the throne room as a result of too much inter-planar travel in one day. We weren't entirely sure that you would wake up at all. You're strong."

She scowled at him and said, "There's something you're not telling me." Her eyes narrowed up at him suspiciously.

"Indeed there is," he replied morosely. He pulled away from her, leaving Sarah with a foreign feeling of vulnerability, and stood away from the bed. Sarah sat up and hugged her legs to herself. He paced back and forth, his arms folded across his chest. She saw now that he was wearing a very loose pair of drawstring pants, untied and made of the finest silk-like material that the Underground knew. She canted her head to one side curiously. She'd never seen him in any more than tights or, at the very most, breeches. While she was so focused on his pants, he began to tell her what the matter was. "You can't travel back and forth between the planes for much longer. Your body simply can't make the adjustment. You must choose." He looked at her on the bed, his eyes cold as stones that had been under the night sky.

As she stared at him, she believed that she understood why his eyes were so cold. She had heard most of what had been said while she was asleep, most of it appearing as a dream that was very similar to the dream that Jareth had sent her of the ballroom and the dress. She believed that he was guarding himself, preparing himself for a let-down. "I have to choose between this world or the other, correct?" she said slowly, propping herself up on her hands. He only nodded, though was confused as to why she wouldn't refer to the other as her own. She put a hand on her chin. "Alright, Jareth. I'm assuming I'll need some recovery time before I can travel back and forth again, right?" she said brightly. Again, he only nodded, his eyes slanting curiously in her direction. "Okay. If you can convince me to stay before I'm able to travel back to the other world, I'll stay here."

Jareth stared at her quite openly. He hadn't expected her to be so mature in her bargaining. He had expected a quick 'okay, send me home!', but not a deal. Her hand came out, the palm facing outward and the thumb erect in the general way that people asked for handshakes to seal deals with. He looked at her hand carefully. "You're serious?" he asked cautiously, waiting for some trick to come out of the woodwork.

She nodded her head. "If you can convince me to stay, I'll stay," she repeated, and jiggled her hand encouragingly. He had to admit, it was better odds than he had first expected.

Without thinking about it, he reached out and took her hand, shaking it once and then twice up and down and slowly smiling. Sarah's expression turned shocked as she noticed that his hands were both black as charcoal. She didn't pull away, but instead grasped his hand when he tried to take back his hand. She yanked him forward and held his hand before her eyes for a better view of the appendage. She marveled over it and looked up at him. "This is the first time I've ever seen you without gloves," she said flatly. "Is this why?" She traced her index finger over his palm in a similar fashion that Abernathy had done earlier.

The Goblin King nodded his head. "It's a childhood curse. I touched something that I shouldn't have." He left it at that with the vaguest answer that he thought that he could get away with. Sarah seemed fascinated by his hand – the color, the texture, the shape. He watched her fascination, and wished that he could get away with never wearing gloves, so long as she would always touch him like this. He allowed himself a small smile. "My mother said it may be a week or two before you should be allowed to travel again," he informed her, and carefully took back his hand. She looked up at him, disappointed but accepting. "Perhaps longer than that. I've never seen a human return to the Underground a third time, let alone a fourth... Your next decision will be final, Sarah."

"I understand," she said seriously.

Giving a sharp nod of his head, he smiled again. He crossed the room and picked up the tan gloves from the floor. His subjects could not see the curse. Sarah wouldn't know what it was, but all of the goblins would. She looked discontented as he pushed his fingers into their familiar spaces. "I still have a lot of work to do in the Labyrinth. Feel free to explore the castle, but take someone with you... Nathan, perhaps, or Headwart."

Smiling lightly, she corrected him, "Hoggle."

He waved a hand to say that he didn't really care. "I will be back for dinner," he assured her, and moved towards the door.

Sarah got out of the bed, protesting, "Wait." He stopped and looked back at her with a puzzled look as she advanced on him. He took a cautious step backward, but she only took one of his hands with one of hers and pressed the other against his chest. She leaned up on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. "Have a good day," she whispered against his cheek. She pulled back and smiled at him lightly.

From the door, Nathan coughed. Jareth spun on his heel and looked at him expectantly. He said quietly, "Sire, the subjects are eager for news about Sarah." His hands gripped the door worriedly, wondering if he had accidentally interrupted something that would have some dire consequences.

With a heavy sigh, he nodded his head. "Tell them that..." he stopped, and looked at Sarah. He smiled, and then looked at Nathan again, continuing with, "Tell them that she's doing just fine, and that she'll be a guest for the next few weeks." He bowed his head, and began to back out of the room. "And Nathan," he said loudly.

Cringing and believing this to be his punishment, Nathan said, "Yes, Lord?"

"Call me Jareth," he said lightly. "Today, unless you have something more important to attend to, I would like you to accompany Sarah around the castle. You must know your way around by now." He folded his arms.

Nathan nodded his head. "I do... Jareth," he said slowly, as if afraid to say it. Sure, Jareth had told him to do it, but that didn't mean that it wasn't some sick joke to get a reason to beat him. Jareth didn't advance on him, and Sarah smiled encouragingly. He smiled lightly. "I'd be happy to show her around."

Jareth nodded his head once, crisply. "Well then," he said brightly. "You should be easily entertained here for the day, Sarah. As I said, I will be back for dinner." Nathan scurried into the room and out of his way as Jareth came towards the door, and the door closed with a snap behind him.

She folded her arms and looked at Nathan with a light smile. "Where could I find some clothes in this place?" she asked hopefully.


	18. Tour

Ugh. It was a struggle to write this chapter, mainly because I had to look up so many damn references to dresses and furniture. I seriously couldn't remember the difference between a bureau and an armoire. I'm willing to bet some of you are going to go look that up right now. :P

This chapter marks the beginning of understanding Nathan. No Jareth appearances, sorry, but plenty of dress-up stuff. You may just want to skim it. It's kind of a filler, I'm sorry, but it looked into Sarah's personality a little, that she still does love costumes and such... Plus, it describes her bedroom. Starts Nathan stuff.

Yeah this is a useless chapter. Next chapter will have more substance, I promise!

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Nathan led her to a hallway of bedrooms that had been specifically designed for female guests of the castles. They had been recently refreshed, even though they hadn't been used in decades. Nathan went in first, seeing Sarah's apprehension at the dark. He crossed the room and grabbed one end of the heavy drapes over the open balcony and pulled them back to the wall, going back and dragging the other end as well. The action flooded the entire room with light. Sarah stared in wonder. The previous room had been boring, plain and white, like a medical ward. This room was bright and decorated and gorgeous.

She stepped into the room, gazing around at it. It was painted a deep red with gold trim. Normally, Sarah thought that gold was too gaudy in any sense. She preferred the more subtle silver. However, this room was tastefully done with complimenting shades and shapes. The bed was a four-poster and had gauzy gold curtains hanging from it. They weren't thick enough to hide much or keep heat in like the gigantic drapes, but they did manage to create a good ambiance. The sheets on the bed were white with intricate, delicate golden patterns embroidered into the fabric. A comforter was folded down along the bottom of the bed formally and was a deep golden color. She reached out and touched it, expecting it to be solid and metallic, but found that it was instead incredibly, downy soft. She looked above the bed at the painting. It looked like the gardens outside, from when they had been beautiful like Jareth was trying to restore them to now. She sat on the bed and looked around at the room. The furniture was made of a dark wood with gilded edges, sanded and lacquered into smooth, beautiful surfaces. There was a vanity, a bureau, an armoire, a dressing screen, a small dining table, a sofa and chairs near a window, and a hope chest against the foot of the bed that doubled as a seat. The room was as big as half of the entire first story of Sarah's house, which was saying something.

The bookshelf caught her eye after the bed. It was a wall-to-wall shelf, ten feet high and completely full. She crossed the room to it, reading along the titles in confusion. It was an exact replica of her bookshelf at home, with a few exceptions from her most recent trip to the bookstore, and even included one entire section of the books that she had written. She turned around and looked at Nathan, who had taken a seat in the armchair near the window, gazing out of it disinterestedly. "Nathan," she asked slowly, removing a book that had been inscribed by the author during a signing. She looked on the inside of the book where the inscription was usually found, and it was there. Sarah almost dropped the book. "What is this room?"

He looked up at her, and the book in her hands. He hummed and shrugged his shoulders. "You were gone for two days and he made you a bedroom," he said nonchalantly. "Spent a good long time on it. He'd be pleased to know that you like it." Sarah didn't reply, just staring at the bookshelf. Nathan watched her carefully. "Do you?" he asked.

Sarah turned the book over in her hands, and then she looked around the room. "It's beautiful," she murmured, unsure. "Is he so set on having me stay with him?" she wondered aloud. Nathan didn't reply. She looked up at him, blue eyes worrisome. She remembered how he had acted the day before when she had taken too much time to get back, how much he had wanted her. He had wanted her, physically, but hadn't been willing to sacrifice her feelings to get that. She chewed on her lip. Was this another bribe? Was he trying to lure her in with trinkets?

Shaking herself free of her thoughts and determined not to place an underhanded motive on Jareth's attentions, Sarah replaced the book on the shelf with a decided thunk against the backboard. She turned on her heel and crossed the room to the armoire, flinging the doors open. "I should find something to wear," she said in false brightness. Her eyes widened at the medley of dresses inside the armoire. It was a massive variety of different styles and colors that had Sarah's eyes sparkling in a matter of seconds. The armoire reminded her of her mother's closet full of costumes. She let out a delighted squeal and clapped her hands, and began to flip through the dresses on their hangers. Nathan rolled his eyes and looked back out the large window.

Finally, she settled on a violet velvet gown that hung all the way to her ankles that she pinned for 1500s. She took it behind the dressing screen and set about finding the proper undergarments for it. She put on a chemise and stockings underneath, feeling like dressing up, and found a pair of black slippers. She brought herself to the mirror on the other side of the screen and smiled. The dress itself was sleeveless, square-cut at the top with a laced bodice that she had to have Nathan help her with. He blushed like mad, but there was nothing that he could see. The chemise's white sleeves billowed out from beneath the dress, wide and full but not stiff. There was embroidery around the square cut at the top, green and gold and intricately laced into a pattern that was delightful to the eye. Before the mirror, she turned this way and that and found that the dress was rather slimming, and a good color for her.

She batted her eyelashes at the mirror and then turned to the vanity. Nathan had wandered to the bookshelf and was pulling out books at random, reading the summaries on the backs as if he were familiar with the format. Perhaps he was. By her calculations, he'd only been in the Underground for ten years if you were going by surface time. She curiously wondered about him, but then something caught her eye as she sat down on the stool in front of the vanity. Beside the piece of furniture was a smaller bureau with about a dozen small drawers. She turned the stool towards it and opened up a drawer at random. Her eyes glittered. In this drawer was a large collection of rings in varying shades of silver. She pulled open several other drawers, finding more jewelry, separated by type, color, and level of elaboration. Every ring was in her size, every necklace hung perfectly around her neck, every earring was just the right weight, and every bracelet sat comfortably around her wrist. After loading up her limbs once, Sarah looked at herself in the mirror and laughed out loud at the hodgepodge that she was wearing.

Carefully, she replaced every piece of jewelry and then selected just one matching set of amethyst stones that were dark enough to match her dress. The choker set a stone against the hollow of her throat, the earrings hung in strings with an amethyst on the end of each one at varying lengths, and the ring fit on her middle finger on her right hand. Brushing her hand along the top of the bureau, she noticed that the top of it lifted slightly. She raised it and found a mirror and a small collection of circlets. She found one that matched the stones and raised it to her hair. She frowned and stopped. She set it on the vanity and turned towards it, setting out to find a brush for her unruly locks.

Once she finished combing them out, she pulled half of it back and pinned it with an ornamental butterfly clip and applied the circlet to the crown of her head so that it just barely rested against the clip. She found cream, powder, and paint in the vanity drawers in various colors with various brushes and sponges. Frowning at all of it, she didn't apply much past a small amount of powder. Once again, she stood and viewed herself in the mirror on the back side of the dressing screen. Humming slightly, she stepped out from behind it and asked Nathan, "What do you think?"

Boredly, he rolled his head look at her and glanced up and down. "I think you've just spent an hour dressing yourself, you ninny," he said lightly, and looked back out the window.

"A whole hour? No, I didn't," she denied in embarrassment. She'd never realized the power of playing dress-up. She knew that she had done it for an entire day with Sylvie once or twice, but she didn't think that she would be able to do so for so long on her own. She came up behind Nathan's chair and looked out the window. He could see a clock tower from this vantage point, and it indeed told her that an hour had gone by since she'd last spied a clock. "I'm sorry, Nathan. I'm sure I bored you." She patted his shoulder.

Nathan shrugged. "Only a little," he replied. He yawned as he got to his feet and stretched his muscles. Sarah flinched to hear a few bones popping back into their places. His face showed the discomfort that had resulted from sitting there the entire time. "Can we move on with the tour now?" he asked hopefully.

In only a few hours, Nathan showed her a wide variety of rooms that Sarah insisted she would not remember to the next day. He only shrugged and said that they were only wasting time until Jareth returned for dinner. Sarah began to complain that she was hungry, and Nathan told a passing goblin that they would take their lunch in the castle's garden. He led her down into it and it wasn't quite up to par with the other gardens that Jareth was working on in the Labyrinth. There were trees and flowers that Nathan had tried to take care of, but had failed miserably. He didn't have Hoggle or Jareth's green thumb. Sarah could use her imagination and could see what the garden had the potential to be, and wondered absentmindedly if she could remember how to get here, if maybe she could take care of the garden on her own.

The food arrived and Sarah was delighted to find it semi-familiar. She had accepted the idea that she was in an entirely different plane of reality now, and that most things were fairly different from her own. She had expected the food to be wholly different from her own, but it wasn't. There was meat, fruit, cheese, bread, and even a bowl of an oatmealish substance that tasted good when fruit was added. She tried everything that had been brought out, picking out what she liked best and taking larger servings of it. Nathan just took what she left alone.

"So, Nathan," she began, chewing thoughtfully on a gummy fruit that tasted like a mix of berries from her own reality, but had the texture of fish. She swallowed it down and felt it hit her stomach worriedly. "What year were you wished away? If you don't mind my asking." She licked her fingers and reached for a piece of bread that was dark like squaw but tasted similar to turkey meat.

His eyes fixed on her snappishly and he set down the piece of fruit that he had been skinning with a knife he'd removed from his belt. He didn't set down the knife. He pointed it at her instead, appearing as if he were going to say something menacing. Instead, he said, "Why do you care?" airily and waved the knife around in a circular pattern.

Sarah shrugged and let out a breath she hadn't known she was keeping. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "I just wanted to start a conversation, I guess."

He snorted and picked up the fruit again. He was silent for a long time and then said, "1997."

Surprised, Sarah looked up at him. "Really? Wow, I might've babysat you in college." She giggled.

Instead of being amused, Nathan shaved off another slice of thick skin from the fruit and scowled. "If we'd even lived on the same continent," he said scornfully.

She could take a hint. He didn't like talking about his past, apparently. "Where do you think Jareth is now?" she asked brightly.

"In the Labyrinth, most likely working on the gardens... Or maybe the jungle." He seemed to lighten up slightly at the change of subject, and tilted his head. He shaved off another piece of the skin, dropping it onto his emptied plate. "How do you like the food?" he asked.

Shrugging, she replied, "It's different, but it's good. I could get used to it." She swallowed another bite of the bread, and then asked him, "So what are you going to do now that Jareth's back?"

Nathan shifted in his chair. "Are we playing twenty questions or what?" he asked irritably.

She snickered. "What's wrong with asking questions?"

"Nothing, but you ask probing questions that I don't necessarily want to answer," he said flatly. He looked away from her, down at the fruit. Frowning, he continued quietly, "Most of it I don't even want to think about." Another shaving dropped to his plate.

Sarah watched it tilt on its curve before becoming still, and looked up at Nathan. "You could ask me questions," she suggested hopefully.

He let out an irritable sigh. "Can't we just eat in silence?" He didn't look at her. Sarah fell silent, and picked up another piece of bread. She took a big bite just to keep herself from throwing another sarcastic or bubbly response back at him. He obviously didn't want to talk and she would do her best to respect that... even if she didn't like it.

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Tee hee... at the time that I'm posting this, I have 66 reviews. Ah-hahaha... Don't ask me why I find that so hilarious. It's 11:30 and I'm exhausted. Bedtime!


	19. Violence

Thanks to everyone for the reviews! :) They're much more appreciated than you would probably believe, and I do read each and every one of them. I rarely reply because that would take away from all of my writing time, and I do use all of it.

**Warning: We see a dark side of Jareth today.** A lot... No violence, but kind-of horror, I guess. Not too bad, but if you think Jareth is a gigantic fluffball, think again :D His behavior will be explained eventually...

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After lunch, Nathan brought her to the library. It easily put the library in Sarah's room to shame, and was larger than any library she had ever seen, with maybe the exception of London's royal library that she had visited on vacation. It had its own atrium, with shelves high enough to require a ladder to get to most of the shelves. In the center, there were rows of shelves surrounding a set of wooden examination tables. Against one wall was a huge window that let in more than enough light to read by, with a row of stuffed, comfortable armchairs, complete with ottomans. From the center of the atrium hung a chandelier, glittering with gold and crystals. Sarah was sure there were candles on it as well, but she couldn't see that far. The carpet was plush green. Sarah was so enamored with the library that she told Nathan to have Jareth come and get her later for dinner when he returned. She curled up in one of the armchairs with a book that she had found, a stack as high as the chair coming up from the floor of books that she had discovered. She didn't recognize any of the titles or authors, but by proxy, she read the first page of each one that looked interesting enough and made herself a stack.

That was where Jareth found her, hours later. As soon as the light from the window became too dim to read by, the chandelier came to life, lighting the candles in its tiers of its own volition. Sarah stared up at it for a moment in surprise, but left the explanation up to magic, as she did with a lot of things in the Underground. She kept reading the first book that she had plucked out of the pile, finding it fantastically out of her reach. It mentioned things that she didn't quite understand, though they seemed to be completely normal, enough to not need an explanation. She resolved to ask Jareth about them later and instead just made assumptions about their functions to get along with the story.

With nearly half of the book finished, so engulfed in it as she was, Sarah didn't hear Jareth come through the heavy doors. He came up behind her chair and folded his arms over the high backing of it, scanning the page of her book and smiling. It was one that he didn't particularly enjoy, but he thought that she would. Seeing her so captivated with it was definitely worth keeping its space in the library for a hundred years. He blew on her hair lightly. Barely counting it as a nuisance, Sarah only brushed a hand over her hair. He laughed. Sarah jumped, and he laughed louder.

She glanced at the page number of her book and then slammed it down on the side table next to the armchair, glaring at him. She had expected Hoggle or Nathan, and finding Jareth was somewhat of a surprise, but she still glared at him. "That was not funny!" she protested.

The Goblin King only shrugged his shoulders, folding his arms over his chest and smirking at her. "I disagree," he replied coolly. "I found it hilarious."

"Well, I didn't," she snapped, and got up out of the chair. She took a deep breath and let it out. She had two younger siblings; she should've been used to such shenanigans. "What's for dinner?" she asked.

Again, he shrugged. "I don't know. Let's go find out together, shall we?" He offered his arm to her and smiled invitingly. His teeth seemed jagged.

Sarah looked at him suspiciously but accepted his arm, allowing him to lead her to wherever they were going. She told herself it was just because she had no idea where to go from the library, but she was lying. He led her down winding corridors and through several gilded archways, none of which she could remember the way back through or hope to ever navigate on her own. Maybe, if given enough practice, but she only expected to be here for another few days, a few weeks at the most. It would not be enough time. The thought made her frown slightly, but then they entered the dining room.

It took her breath away just as much as the library had. The table could easily seat a hundred people, maybe more if the seating arrangements were adequately creative. There was a table cloth on it made of something akin to lace, intricately patterned with thread like the comforter in her bedroom, only this was silver rather than gold. Bejeweled tassels decorated the ends of the fabric and large patterns decorated the surface of the table. Sarah wondered how long it had taken someone to make this beautiful piece, and wondered if Jareth owned even more than just this one. She dreaded spilling something on the table cloth more than she dreaded Jareth himself just for the thought of ruining such a large piece of fabric that someone had obviously put so much effort into. The chairs along the table were large and uniform, and appeared to be hand-carved. Each had its own blue cushion. The walls were painted a serene yellow, not bright enough to neither sting nor pale enough to evoke disgust, just the right shade of pastel. On them hung tapestries that rivaled the intricacy of the table cloth, depicting detailed and colorful scenes of wars, holidays, and feasts. The room was long enough to hold five on each wall, each one being at least ten feet long. On the back wall, behind the only ornamented chair that Sarah guessed was Jareth's, was a wide arrangement of weaponry – maces, whips, axes, swords, knives, darts, and other such messy things. They looked pristine, as if they were only for show.

There were only a few seats at the end that had a place mat and table setting before them. Sarah counted six, and frowned. She could only think of five people that would be attending dinner – herself, Jareth, Nathan, Abernathy, and maybe Hoggle. "Who's coming to dinner?" she asked lightly as he pulled out the chair to the direct right of the head of the table. The significance of the seat was not lost on her, but she swept her skirt beneath her and sat like a lady. He effortlessly moved the chair in, giving her just enough room to comfortably fit her arms beneath the table while still not being able to easily spill food onto her lap. As a precaution, Sarah folded her napkin and tucked it beneath the edge of her plate closest to her, doing her best to protect the tablecloth. She ran her fingers over the tablecloth admiringly.

Jareth took his seat, and then deigned himself to answer her question. "My mother and Nathan will be joining us," he said, and folded his napkin in his lap. He glanced at Sarah's napkin but said nothing and just hoped she would be able to figure her way through the variety of silverware on the table. She had been focusing on him and the tablecloth, so she might not have noticed it yet. Indeed, as he looked at her face again, her eyes were on his and nothing else. He sighed and reached for his water glass. "Hoggle and his wife will be joining us as well."

Had Sarah been drinking anything, she would've spat it all over the tablecloth she so loved. She stared open-mouthed at him and tried to come up with something to say in retort. Jareth laughed at her face; she looked like a fish out of water. Finally, she managed to say, "Hoggle's married?"

"Yes, Sarah, that's what I said," he said with a little smirk. He drained half of his water, and replaced it in its proper place. He turned it slightly so that it the patterns on its side lined up with the same patterns on his wine glass and tea cup. "A dwarf named Ruby, ironically..." He picked up the water glass again and took an ice cube into his mouth. Around it, he added, "She hates you." Sarah giggled at the ice cube.

She frowned then. "Why would she hate me?" she asked, confused. She'd never even met the woman... At least, she was fairly certain she'd never met a dwarf named Ruby, but she could be mistaken.

Fixing her with an even gaze, Jareth replied, "Hoggle still wears that plastic thing you gave him. It drives her crazy." He swirled the water in his glass. They were early for dinner. Under normal circumstances, he would throw a fit that the Goblin King was the only one who was on time, and anyone else was early or late, but he hadn't been alone with Sarah all day long. He was going to take advantage of the situation.

Sarah noticed that the ice cube had already melted. She frowned. She hadn't heard him chew it... She shrugged her shoulders. "Why would that bother her? It was just a gift for his help, a sign of friendship, nothing more," she sat back in her seat and folded her arms over her chest. The chairs weren't as comfortable as they had first appeared, even with the blue cushions. Having the Goblin King's gaze boring into her didn't help at all either.

"Regardless of what you first intended it to be, Sarah," Jareth said quietly, his gaze somewhat angry, "any sort of gift in the Underground signifies serious affection. The fact that Hoggle still wears it is a sign of commitment. Ruby's nearly left him several times about it, but Law says that all marriages are final." He took another sip of his water and almost growled as he heard his stomach turn at him, angry at being empty for so long.

She folded her hands in her lap, fiddling with the jewelry that she was wearing. Jareth had given her a very large gift – an entire bedroom, complete with furniture, accessories, clothing, jewelry, and everything else that she could imagine. She stared down at her plate. She had gladly taken this gift, without a care. What would Jareth see in her wearing entirely things that she had found in the room that he had given her? She gulped worriedly. Things were not always as they seem. Sarah added a new part to her old adage, _and nothing is at its face value_. Gifts were not simply gifts, they were signs of affection. She began to slide the ring off of her finger.

The Goblin King reached a hand across the corner of the table and put a hand over hers. His mismatched eyes stared into hers harshly. "Keep it, Sarah. Once a gift has been accepted, to return it is a serious insult. If you don't want to encourage me, don't wear any of it."

Nathan came into the room, being shoved bodily from behind by Abernathy. She forcibly sat him in the seat to the left of Jareth, and sat beside the pale and shaking boy. Nathan would not raise his eyes from the tablecloth. Sarah couldn't see his hands, but she was willing to bet that he had a white-knuckle grip on the armrests. Sarah looked at him curiously. She hadn't seen him in a few hours, but she didn't think anything too dramatic could've happened in so short a time.

She looked to Abernathy instead, who had folded her napkin over her lap and was doing her best to appear as though she couldn't tell anything was wrong. Feeling Jareth pull away from her hand finally, Sarah's attention returned to him. His torso flexed and he moved his upper half from one side of the table to the other, leaning into Nathan. Nathan didn't move, but he was shaking even more violently. Jareth bared jagged teeth at him, and Sarah recoiled into the wooden backing of her seat. Abernathy wasn't looking at either of them.

One of Jareth's gloved hands gripped the corner of the table, only inches from Nathan's arm. "So you took my gift for your own, did you, Nathan?" he said, his voice dripping on the ears like acid. Nathan let out a small, pitiful sound.

Abernathy reached for her water glass. "Not at the dinner table, son," she said lightly.

Ignoring her, Jareth continued, "That could be considered stealing, Nathan." His voice sounded sweet like the peach he had given Sarah a hundred, or ten, years ago.

Sarah straightened and defended him. "He told me the room was your doing, Jareth, he only led me to it." She reached for the arm closer to her, but Jareth snapped it out of her reach.

He ignored her otherwise. "Stealing from the Goblin King." His voice was sing-song, lilting. Nathan squeezed his eyes shut. "You know what the penalty for stealing is!" he roared, sounding almost gleeful. Faster than Sarah could see, Jareth wrenched Nathan from his chair by the arm, knocking both of their chairs to the floor with a clatter. He dragged him away from the table slightly and forced the boy to his hands and knees. He removed a whip from the wall.

Again, Sarah protested, "Jareth, don't!" and stood from her chair. Abernathy covered half of her face with her hand, closing her eyes and sipping her water.

The Goblin King pointed the whip at her. "Don't defy me, Sarah!" he bellowed. He flicked his wrist and snapped the whip only a few feet from her ear. It didn't physically hurt, but her ears rang hard enough to make her sit back down. He raised his arm again, snapping it close to Nathan's face. He screamed in fear, and it was a horrifying sound.

Gaining her senses after the scream, Sarah shouted, "I wish you wouldn't whip Nathan!"

Jareth's arm stopped halfway through a downward stroke. The whip fell limp, not enough speed behind it to actually snap. Nathan was making loud, keening noises. Jareth made a straining sound as if he were trying to still go through with his intended action. With a frustrated yell, he threw down the whip and removed a mace from the wall. Sarah panicked and screamed, "I wish you wouldn't punish Nathan for stealing your gift!" Jareth snarled at her and threw the mace at her instead. She ducked, and it embedded itself in the wooden backing of her chair. Jareth's face fell and he stared at where Sarah's head had been.

"No dinner will be served tonight," he said, his voice empty and hollow. He swept out of the room quickly.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Sarah carefully got out of her chair, avoiding the mace's handle, and went to Nathan's side. She gathered him into her arms gently. He screamed again, holding himself but not defending. She shook his shoulders and yelled, "Nathan, it's me!" Startled, his green eyes stared at her for a second or two before he latched onto her in fear. Relaxing, she comforted him, rubbing his back and smoothing his hair as he cried.

Abernathy just drank her water.

* * *

So far, the best compliment I've gotten was that Abernathy and Nathan fit into the Labyrinth world. I usually hate non-canon characters, but I find they're usually more acceptable when they're not the romantic interest in the story. Abernathy and Nathan are just side characters, I assure you, but they both have a significant purpose. Ruby will too, once you meet her. Still, I just had to mention that.

Oh, and **if you find something significantly confusing, something worded wrong, some grammatical error, PLEASE TELL ME**. I may be awesome, but I know I make mistakes and I'd like to eliminate them from the story. I write the chapters and immediately post them, no beta-ing and barely any re-read, so I know there's bound to be a few mistakes that I'll miss. I've already fixed a few that I've found, but I know there's more. Tell me!


	20. Kiss

Sarah brought Nathan into her room, and locked the door behind her. She didn't consider Jareth a threat for the night, but there were still other nasties that could approach her in the midnight hours. Nathan was still shaking and pale, but he was mostly coherent and was no longer making those terrible, high-pitched keening sounds. She put him in one of the armchairs and then went to the bureau to find pajamas for the night. She hesitated, thinking about what Jareth said regarding gifts. If she didn't want it, she shouldn't wear it. She glanced back at Nathan wonderingly, and thought about what she should do, gripping the door of the armoire.

"Just wear the clothes, Sarah," he said tiredly. "You have nothing else for at least a week, and the only way to get something of your own is to wish it from him anyways. Don't bother trying to make a point for me, because as soon as you're gone, he's still the King, and I'll still have been disobedient." He hugged himself, curled into the chair so much that Sarah couldn't see any part of him from where she was standing.

She opened her mouth to protest, but what could she say? The only way to protest that would be to say that she would stay, but she was fairly certain at the moment that she did not want to stay with in the Underground the Goblin King. At least, not to be his Queen. "But," Sarah reasoned in her head, "if I do stay, and I do become Queen, I'll have power over him. I'll be able to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone like that...' She shook her head to release the thoughts. That was being incredibly self-sacrificial... there had to be another way.

Sifting through the drawers of the bureau, she finally found a drawer full of nightgowns made from different materials in different lengths and styles. She chose a knee-length one made of a soft, yellow, cotton-like fabric. She took it with her behind the screen and carefully removed the dress, chemise, and stockings, leaving the slippers at the edge. A basket stood behind the screen and she dropped the clothing into it. She went to the vanity and removed the circlet and all of the rest of the amethyst jewelry, putting it into its proper places. Then she went and sat with Nathan in another armchair.

A knock at the door made them both jump. "Who is it?" Sarah called warily.

"Abernathy," she called into the room. Sarah looked at Nathan, who just looked back at her with an odd, fearful look in his eyes. Sarah remembered the way that Abernathy had shoved Nathan into the room, had looked the other way when Jareth was about to beat him. Her empty water glass.

Getting to her feet, Sarah made a point to make each footstep louder than the one before it, stamping her feet all the way to the door. She didn't unlock or open it, and instead told the door, "Go away!"

Abernathy glanced upward at the ceiling and sighed. "Don't be like that, Sarah. Let me explain." Sarah again looked at Nathan. He was on his knees, looking over the back of the armchair. He wasn't shaking anymore. "I brought supper," she offered enticingly.

She could smell it through the door. Sarah unlocked the door and opened it. "If that's poisoned, I will come back to haunt you once I'm dead," she promised. Abernathy just smiled and walked past her carrying a tray of enough food to feed all three of them very well. She placed it on the side table between the two armchairs and put her hands on her hips. Nathan sat dejectedly in the chair, not looking at her. Sarah sat in the other armchair and reached over to pat Nathan's arm. He flinched away from her and curled into the chair again.

"I owe you both a very large apology," she began. Sarah snorted, folding her arms over her chest. Abernathy continued, "I am sorry for bringing you into that room, Nathan, and I am sorry for doing nothing, but I do have my reasons. I was sure you were exaggerating when you said that Jareth would hurt you for simply showing Sarah to her room. I should have realized that you've been around him more and for longer than I have. I did nothing because, regardless of me being his mother, he is still the King of the Underground. I have no authority and no power here. You did, Sarah, and I knew that you would stop him before blood was shed, and you did. I'm sorry if I let you down, but I brought this as a token of apology." She spread her hand towards the food.

Neither Sarah nor Nathan had reached for any of the food on the tray. "Jareth said that no dinner would be served, Abernathy. That means no dinner, period." At least, that was how Sarah took it, and how she guessed he had meant it.

Nodding, Abernathy smiled, "Yes, but this is not dinner. This is supper." She conjured a chair and sat herself on the other side of the table. "He loves to play on words and he got it from me. So long as we don't call this dinner, it is not dinner, and thus, we are not being disobedient." She picked up a slice of bread and wrapped it around a piece of cheese. "Besides, if he thinks he can keep me from eating, he's daft." She took a large bite of the bread and cheese. Nathan and Sarah glanced at each other, expecting something horrible to happen.

Instead, nothing happened. Abernathy finished the entire piece of bread and cheese before either of them reached for the food. Sarah chose to wrap some bread around a piece of pinkish meat that tasted similar to duck, and took a hearty bite. Lunch seemed like it was days ago. Sarah had to coax Nathan to eat, saying that Abernathy would take the heat if Jareth did still decide that this was against his decree. Abernathy agreed. Since she had served the food, she was at fault. Nathan began to stuff his face after that.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Sarah then proclaimed, "I'm thinking about staying."

Abernathy barked a laugh, choking on a piece of meat and covering her mouth. She swallowed it down and finally said, "What the hell for? Are you crazy? If you agree to staying, he'll believe you mean to be his Queen too."

"I do," she said, picking her bread into small pieces before she would eat them.

Nathan turned his head to stare at her now. "What for, Sarah?" he asked softly.

She sighed and sat back in her chair, looking at them with a frown. "Because," she said finally. "Jareth is twisted and mean, and I hate it. I would hate leaving you all here to suffer because I know I could prevent it if I stayed. I have enough power over him, I know I could either change him or make him stop it anyways. I know I could. I don't want to leave you all defenseless."

Shaking his head, Nathan said, "That's suicide, Sarah. I might get beaten a few times, but only when I make the mistake of misunderstanding what he's said or disobeying him. It's my own fault." He bit into bread again.

"It is not your fault," she said flatly. "It's his. No child should be beaten."

His striking blue eyes bore into hers. "I am not a child."

Sarah was taken aback. It was so easy to mistake him for a child, for a simple twelve-year-old. She forced herself to remember that he was at least a hundred and twenty. She looked down at the floor beneath them and said softly, "I'm sorry." She picked at her bread like a guilty child.

Clearing her throat, Abernathy said, "You're just... It's easy to forget your age, Nathan. She didn't mean you any insult." She reached for another piece of fruit.

He shrugged and tore off a chunk of meat. He popped it into his mouth and spoke around it. "I know. I know... But because of that, I'm forced to remind you ladies often that I am a hundred and twenty-six years old. I have run most of this land for most of a century, and I am mostly a prince. I do not need to be protected or placated like a child." Abernathy threw him a look, and he scowled at her. "You would cower too if his anger was directed at you," he snapped.

Laughingly, she replied, "I could have him drawn and quartered for hurting me. The power system is complicated, yes... I can't deny his authority to run his land as he sees fit, but I'm still the Queen of the Underground... and his mother. He can't touch me, so I can still insult him all I want, convince him of things, dissuade him of things, and talk to him as if I'm in charge, but we both know that I'm not."

"We've run onto a tangent," Nathan said flatly and shook his head to clear it. "Sarah, you saw what he did today, what he was going to do to me, and he **threw** a **mace** at your **head**. And then he forbade us from eating dinner. He's crazy, and you're _insane_ for wanting to stay here!" He drew his hands outwards to show her just how insane she was.

Chewing on her lip, Sarah tried to argue, "He didn't actually hit me..."

Nathan and Abernathy shared a look, and Abernathy reached across the table to slap her upside the head. "Don't be stupid, Sarah. He could've very easily hit you, but you were ready to duck. He might've hit you, and then where would you be? Dead. D-E-A-D. What use would you be to anyone then? He has these episodes often. I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did." She pulled back and reached for a reddish fruit that looked like a pear.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean 'episodes'?" she asked, using quotations with her fingers for emphasis.

Abernathy straightened her fingers out and then curled them back around the fruit, looking carefully thoughtful, and decidedly not at Sarah. She said slowly, "Jareth has a... problem."

Waiting for a few minutes, Sarah encouraged Abernathy with a leading, "Uh-huh..."

She sighed and lifted her head, looking Sarah in the eye. "Technically, everyone has it. Everyone of our kind that's in an authority position, anyways... Unless you're really resistant or have someone to keep you from going nuts, we focus entirely on hiding our motives and weaknesses from would-be opponents, and thus equate emotions to be dangerous and futile, except for anger when used in the proper ways. Jareth took his job rather seriously, so much so that he only allows himself to express anger, pity, and amusement freely. Everything else is forbidden, and thus remains hidden deep inside him unless he feels properly inclined and comfortable. Plus, being the sheltered king that he is, he's never really had to deal with outside insults. He took Nathan's actions as a direct insult and reacted with one of what he believed to be the only appropriate emotions – anger. I'll admit, he handled the entire situation horribly, but he realized it the second he put you into danger, Sarah. You've no idea how terrible he feels about it."

Sarah interjected, "I don't care either. He can go rot in his bog for that."

Rolling his eyes, Nathan said, "Five minutes ago, you were talking about marrying the bastard. Make up your mind." He folded his arms irritably.

She sighed. "I'm still thinking about it," she admitted, "But I want a damn big apology for it." She folded her arms over her chest and scowled, mirroring Nathan's pose dramatically.

"I don't know why you're even thinking about it, Sarah," Abernathy said, frowning lightly. "It's not like he's proposed or even spoken of that."

He shook his head. "He called her his queen, thus implying marriage. Even if it was just a ploy to throw off Copernicus and myself, it says that he's generally thought about it." He bit some bread, scowling to find it hard. "At least, marriage is the only method I know of for becoming a queen." He looked at Abernathy.

Shrugging, Sarah replied, "Then I'm just thinking that he might. Big deal. I still want an apology... a big one."

There was a light knock on the door. Sarah looked at her companions for a moment before she got to her feet. She knew it was him. Not only could she innately feel him outside the door, but who else would it be? Some other gentleman caller? _Right_.

As she swung the door open, she opened it just enough to fit her body, blocking his view of the room – Abernathy, Nathan, and supper, to be specific. "What do you want?" she asked flatly. In her head, she was admiring his clothing and physique. He was wearing another long-sleeved, loose shirt and drawstring pants. Sarah forced her eyes to his face, though that didn't do her much good. The corridor was lined with strings of fire-filled orbs too large to be Jareth's crystals. The way the firelight flickered across his face made him seem even more ethereal. She wondered if it did the same to her face.

Quietly, he asked, "Could I have a word with you in the hallway?" Glancing over her shoulders, Sarah stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. He seemed nervous and was doing a terrible job of hiding it. "I... I wanted to apologize for my behavior at dinner. It was unacceptable. I completely agree if you would like to return home as soon as possible. I feel as though I've ruined my chances and I despise myself for being capable of attempting to harm you, and for making you watch what I was going to do to Nathan." He took a deep breath and finally said, "And thank you for stopping me. If for nothing else, I would wish you would stay to help me control myself... but I fully understand if you would be more comfortable leaving. My chances are... blown, as you would say." He fidgeted and it reminded her of Toby. That single action made Sarah's decision.

She took a step forward and went onto her tip-toes, and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Everyone makes mistakes," She said quietly. "You should still apologize to Nathan, but I forgive you." She flashed him a smile and left him standing, flabbergasted, in the hallway.

* * *

Finally, in chapter 20, we have fluff. :D

Took me long enough, huh? I've had a busy week. I'd have another chapter ready to go by tomorrow morning if my boyfriend wasn't being annoying at the moment. We're having a Vin Diesel marathon. :) He thinks he's hot too... I'll finish it Monday night, hopefully. Review!


	21. Gift

OceanFae: Yeah, I know. :( That makes me sad... he's still drool-worthy.

Yes, three fluffy chapters in a row. This one's mildly smutty, but nothing R-rated. It goes downhill after the next chapter, I promise. :) There will be more complications. I'm not anywhere near finished yet. There's gonna be maybe another ten chapters, I think... Give or take a few.

Yay smut!

* * *

The rest of the week passed uneventfully. Sarah spent her mornings with Abernathy on Nathan, just talking and learning and forming trust and relationships. The more she talked to her, the more Abernathy reminded her of her best friend in high school. She was bubbly, loud, energetic and friendly, all while being the perfect crying shoulder – sympathetic, honest, and incredibly wise. The more she talked to Nathan, the more he reminded her of a strange mix of her editor, her father, and Toby.

She spent her afternoons alone in the library, from after lunch to just a few minutes after sunset. Then she would go and greet Jareth at the front doors of the castle. She would kiss his cheek and take his arm and he would lead her to the dining room and the great table. The food was always rich, fresh, and delicious.

After dinner, she would go out with Jareth, into the library or the gardens or to his greeting room in his chambers. They spoke of many things, fools and kings, childhood tales of fancy and fun, childrearing methods, values, morals, ideals, and one day, six days after her third return to the Underground, she asked about his gloves. He was disinclined to answer her and instead asked, "Sarah, are you feeling well?" He had remembered her drinking a large amount of wine at dinner. He should've known better than to have it served.

Sarah blinked at him curiously. Her eyes were glazed. "I feel great, Jareth," she replied and smiled. "Why do you ask?" She caressed the skin of his arm, featherlight.

"You haven't asked about returning home yet," he said uneasily Perhaps she'd simply forgotten and now he was reminding her.

She smiled at him and said plainly, "I haven't wanted to." She turned her head from his shoulder and looked up into his eyes. "I've been having such a wonderful time with all of this, and I've only been gone for fourteen hours in my world."

Jareth grinned at her, proudly. "You've been keeping track," he said teasingly.

Shrugging her shoulders, she shimmied herself up slightly and turned around to look at him. "I'm not even sure if I want to go back," She admitted. She either failed to notice or didn't care that her hand was almost indecently high on his thigh.

He noticed. His mouth ran dry and he licked his lips in hopes of some kind of relief. He said slowly, "That's a very big decision."

She grinned at him roguishly. "Isn't it though?" she said mischievously, and brushed her hand higher over the very pronounced protrusion in his trousers.

All in one motion, Jareth had removed himself from the sofa and stood decidedly out of her reach. "Sarah, I believe that is a much larger decision," he began.

With her eyes on his groin, she grinned. "Yes, it is," she said wickedly, moving to get off of the sofa and follow him.

He took several steps back and raised his voice as he continued, "and I think you may have had a little too much wine at dinner. You should go to bed earlier, maybe you can sleep off the morning."

Sarah sat back on the sofa and her lower lip trembled. Jareth rolled his eyes toward the ceiling with a pained look. "Bryan thought I was pretty," she said brokenly.

His eyes flattened as he went and sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her. "I think you're absolutely beautiful, Sarah."

"Then why won't you have sex with me?" she wailed. He cringed at the volume and hoped no one else had heard that.

Jareth took her by the chin and made her look at him. He used his other hand to wipe away her tears. "Because, Sarah," he said softly, "I want to so badly, but with your best interests in mind, I will not take advantage of you." He let go of her chin and she laid her head on his shoulder. With one hand, he rubbed her shoulder, and the other just ran through her hair. "I want our consummation to be beautiful and romantic, something you will be glad to remember... Something you will love and cherish. Something to take with you when you leave this place." He gave her a light squeeze. Sarah didn't reply. He sighed. "You're asleep, aren't you?"he murmured and tilted her head back against his shoulder. Indeed, her eyes were closed and she was breathing evenly. He shook his head and picked her up carefully and stood in his front chamber and thought about which room to take her to – her own, or his bedchamber. He glanced toward the outward double doors and then the smaller door to his bedchamber.

He glanced down at the girl in his arms and smiled fondly at her, and turned towards the smaller door.

* * *

The next morning, Jareth's outer door slammed open. Abernathy charged in yelling, "Jareth! Jareth, we can't find Sarah!" She burst into his bedchamber and stopped in her tracks. "Oh."

Jareth had moved one hand over Sarah's bare ear and propped himself up on his elbow. The way the sheets hung over them and the way he had Sarah mostly hidden from view, it appeared that they were both nude. He glared murderously at her. Abernathy grinned and waggled her fingers at him, and quietly shut the door behind her. Distantly, he heard her yell, "Hey guys, she's in Jareth's room!" He rolled his eyes and lay back down, shuffling comfortably closer to the still-sleeping Sarah, and fell back to sleep.

* * *

Sarah awoke sometime before lunch. Jareth had felt her begin to stir and had left the bed to dress himself. He had his back to her when she finally opened her eyes. They widened at the pale, muscled expanse of skin and she quickly tried to clear her head, tried to remember what had happened, what she had done. She brought a hand to her forehead as she remembered how good the wine had tasted the night before, and remembered what large amounts of alcohol did to her personality.

"Did we..." she began to ask.

He smiled and cut her off with, "No. You made a valiant attempt at seducing me though." He turned to look over his shoulder and smile at her teasingly.

She groaned and whined, "I'm sorry. Liquor does that to me... I should've known better."

He shrugged his shoulders and finally decided on a shirt for the day. He turned toward her and said, "I should've warned you. Underground-made wine is very strong." He pulled the shirt over one arm and then the other and began to button it up. "You managed to drink four glasses. I'm impressed." He smiled at her.

Embarrassed, Sarah tried to hide her head beneath the pillow. "I'm sorry," she said again. She felt a dip in the bed and retracted her head, looking up at him in surprise as he climbed onto the bed with her.

"I was flattered, Sarah," he said softly, brushing hair away from her forehead enough to lean in and kiss it gently. "But I politely declined. I went on a very nice spiel about how romantic I wanted it to be, how I would've loved for you to remember it and to not be intoxicated... but you fell asleep before I finished my first sentence. I kept you here so I could keep an eye on you." Now that he'd had extra time to think about it, that was a really good excuse for keeping her in his bed. Drunk persons had the bad tendency to vomit in their sleep and then choke on it, which was not a very good way to go.

Smirking and propping herself up on her elbow, Sarah replied, "How very convenient a way to get me into your bed."

He rolled his eyes and folded his arms, propping his chin up on them. "For some reason, I remember you asking me to sleep with you on the first night that you had returned here," he pointed out with a mischievous smile.

Laughingly, Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "I had a moment of insanity," she said jokingly. She rubbed her forehead and yawned. After glancing at the balcony curtains, she frowned and asked, "Did we miss breakfast?" She seemed disappointed, and her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Yes," he replied, "it's almost lunch. I've decided to spend the day with you rather than in the Labyrinth. Will that suit you?" He tilted his head at her and smiled hopefully.

Sarah rolled out of the bed and stretched her muscles. "I suppose so," she said disinterestedly. She smiled at him over her shoulder, knowing that she was mostly nude, aside from the mostly-transparent slip that he'd left her with to sleep in. She was conveniently missing both a bra and panties as well. "I wonder how I lost most of my clothing," she said musingly, and stretched her hands towards her feet so that her fingertips brushed her toes. She heard Jareth make a small sound.

She turned around, and he still hadn't moved from his face-down position on the bed, though his back had arched enough for him to be looking straight at her, propped up on his elbows. "I think the wine still hasn't worn off, Sarah," he said, his voice dry.

Bending at the waist, she mimicked his position, though her arms cradled her breasts rather than Jareth's cradling nothing. She had her stomach down on the bed, having to go onto tip-toe to be able to make it into the pose, and smiled at him. "I know exactly what I'm doing, Jareth," she said coyly, dropping one shoulder slowly so that the strap of her slip slid down around her upper arm. "I haven't had sex in six months, Jareth, and I'm pretty sure that it's been longer for you. I'm an adult and I can deal with sex in an adult manner. I want to get laid, and I want to get laid by you, and I want it now." She pushed herself up onto the bed and went to her knees, pulling her slip up and over her head and tossing it to the side.

Jareth's eyes were fixed to her skin, admiring every curve, every freckle, every bump, every bone, every scintillating muscle as it rippled through the movement of her running her hand through her hair. She smiled at him, knowing the effect that she was having on him. "You see," she said flirtatiously, "I have a gift for you, Jareth. But it is not for any ordinary king who takes care of a rotting labyrinth..." She drew a hand between her breasts and traced a line all the way down her stomach. "Do you want it?"

"_Yes_."


	22. Separation

Abraham DeLacy Guiseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley, O'Malley the Alleycat... I'm on a Disney kick. :D

Mildly angsty chapter. Sad at the very least. Those of you who are really attentive might even pick up a little foreshadowing at dinner. :) See if you can catch it before the next chapter lets the cat out of the bag. I've written up to Chapter 25, just so you guys know... and I'm writing more. I have a clear path towards the ending now. I don't see it lasting much more than another five-to-eight chapters. Perhaps ten, if I stretch it... But yes, the story is (sadly) working towards a close.

Oh, and just so we're sure, they did have sex. 3

* * *

Another six days after Sarah's bold proposal to Jareth, she was immersed in stacks of parchment, notebooks, record books, rings of fabric samples, sketchbook renditions of costumes, and other various paper materials. She didn't look frustrated, just engulfed in her work. She appeared to be enjoying the organization of the large amount of paper, separating everything into neat, separate stacks. The center tables in the library were all full of things that she needed. Sarah was planning the annual holiday ball.

Abernathy had admitted that the ball was perhaps half of the reason that she had shown up in the Labyrinth, besides her motherly instinct that her son wasn't doing so well, or the fact that no one had heard from him in a century. Every year, the royalty of the Underground drew straws in order to see who would host the annual holiday ball. The ball was held every five years, and there was enough royalty to cover for Jareth during his absence, but this year, they had protested that if he wasn't there to draw his own straw, that he should get whatever was left. The short straw was left, and so Abernathy had been sent to see what was going on. If there wasn't a holiday ball, many people would be extremely upset.

Jareth had griped and groaned about it as soon as she reminded him, and protested that he hated party-planning and was terrible at organization. Sarah had volunteered to take on some of the workload to help him. As soon as she saw what he was trying to do with the ball, she had kicked him off of the planning team entirely and instead enlisted Ruby, Abernathy, and Nathan, all of whom had previously attended several holiday balls. Abernathy planned one every year for just a simple family reunion... the royal family was rather large.

Each table had a different designation – decorations, food, guests, costumes, et cetera. Sarah had kept it meticulously organized, having categories within each table that allowed her to separate the papers even more. Decorations were separated by location (table, wall, floor) and then by color. She was yet to choose a particular color scheme, but she was leaning towards blue and gold, the traditional holiday colors.

Nathan had explained it to be somewhat like the Christmas that she was used to, in that, gifts were exchanged. However, instead of giving everyone and their mother a gift, you chose one person each day for five days and gave them a specific, thoughtful gift. Abernathy said it had been difficult as a mother to choose just five children to give gifts to, but she usually switched off with her husband so that everyone got at least one gift. Sarah liked the idea. She asked where it had come from, but he didn't know. Abernathy didn't either. They had been doing that for thousands of years, and nobody really knew why. But, it was tradition, and tradition always sticks.

The holiday ball was held on only one day, with guests only allowed to stay for the day of the ball and into the next morning, for food purposes. Special guests could stay longer, but most guests were expected to leave and not to leech off of the castle. Because the holiday ball was held on only one day, there was a gigantic gift exchange that was supposed to happen halfway through the proceedings. Getting it to happen smoothly was extremely difficult, as it was rather rare that two people were exchanging gifts with one another. More often, the large majority gave a gift to their host. Receiving two hundred gifts at once did not sound pleasant.

In addition, Sarah had to think of something to give Jareth. He was surprisingly hard to shop for, even as she was living with him in his chambers now and could get a feel for his personal style and taste. What could she buy for the man who had everything? Frustrated with the subject, she put it off for days, focusing instead on the ball itself. Her other four choices – Nathan, Abernathy, Hoggle, and Ruby – seemed pre-chosen for her, but they were all rather easy to buy for. Jareth was the tough one, and she would ignore that until she couldn't any longer.

The ball was in a little less than a month when Sarah checked her watch again. She had been in the Underground now for just under a month, twenty-eight days. She realized this one day and pulled a blank sheet of paper to her, picking up a quill and doing the math. Three days. By now, Karen must have been getting worried. Three days with no word to Karen was like a gigantic red flag waving in a clear blue sky. The fact that Sarah wasn't answering her cell phone wouldn't make anything better. She sat back in her chair and looked upset, frowning and folding her arms. The large part of her didn't want to go back. She wasn't finished with planning the ball yet, plus she would very much like to attend it... and spend more time with Jareth. She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

Jareth came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Their relationship was at a cautiously comfortable place. They both knew that, at the drop of a hat, everything could implode and be ruined, so they were both very careful about each other. Sarah tried to be open and honest, as that usually worked for her, and Jareth did the same, following her lead. He was more forward about the physical aspects of their relationship, but Sarah never minded that. She accepted his hands with a smile, lifting one of her own to cover his. He bent and kissed her temple, slipping his arm forward to give her a haphazard embrace. "What troubles you, my love?" he purred at her ear.

"I've been gone from my world for three days now," she said, trying to be as careful as she could as she did. She didn't know how he would react. He pulled away. She turned around and rushed to explain, "Karen, my stepmother, she's bound to be worried, especially because I'm not answering my cell phone... I have to go back and come up with another excuse to be gone again, at least long enough to make a phone call..." She gazed up at his face, but it was a mask of stone. She hated that look. It said that he didn't want her to know what he was feeling at all, so he would pretend that he wasn't feeling anything. "Jareth, I'll come back. You know I'll come back." Her eyes pleaded with him to believe her, and she reached out a hand towards his.

He took a step back. "I don't know anything, Sarah," he said flatly, his voice as stony as his face.

She got to her feet and wrapped her arms around him forcefully. He stiffened at her touch, but didn't recoil. She laid her cheek against his collarbone. "Why can't you believe me?" she mumbled into the fabric of his shirt. "I'll come back. I swear I'll come back."

Very gently, he pushed her away and kissed her. "If you say so," he said quietly, and then just took her hand. "It's time for dinner. Let's go."

At dinner, Abernathy provided a lively commentary of her day in town, and Nathan gave a few stories about how the military was progressing, as far as organization and leadership was concerned. Skill and talent were completely different topics, usually reserved for comic relief. Jareth was silent. Sarah kept glancing at him in concern, chewing on her lip between bites and drinks. She wanted wine, since everyone else had a glass before them except for her. She had avoided drinking it since the night that she had tried to seduce Jareth, but they had usually just poured her a glass anyways. Just in case. Tonight, there wasn't even a wineglass at her place setting. She narrowed her eyes at the place where it should've been, and then looked up at Jareth. He wasn't looking at her.

After dinner, Sarah had to run down a corridor to catch up to Jareth. She knew her way to his chambers now, but he was going the wrong way. "Jareth! Jareth, where are you going?" she called, worried. He opened a door and stood in front of it, staring at her, waiting. She slowed as she approached and looked into the room curiously. It was decorated in red and gold, the colors muted in the moonlight but still apparent. It was her room. "Jareth..." she said, feeling her heart drop. She had an inkling of what he meant by bringing her here.

"I made this room for you, Sarah," he said, his voice like ice now. "Use it at least once more before you leave." With that, he turned on his heel and stalked away towards what she presumed was his chambers. She watched him go and felt her heart sink into the area about her knees. She stared down at the floor and valiantly tried to strangle a sob before it escaped her throat, but to no avail. She didn't see it, but Jareth paused. He glanced back at her, but she just ran into the room and slammed the door shut. He scowled and continued on his way.

The next day, Sarah followed her routine, though Jareth was nowhere to be seen at breakfast, and Abernathy was unusually quiet. Ruby gave her etiquette lesson listlessly, not as interested in teaching Sarah manners as she usually was. Nathan came into the library after lunch and found Sarah wandering among the history books that recorded Underground history for as long as people knew magic and could write. He cleared his throat and she jumped.

There were circles underneath her eyes. "Didn't sleep well, Sarah?" he asked softly.

Her eyes darkened and she looked away as she replied, "Different beds will do that... I don't adjust very quickly." She traced her fingers along the titles of books, looking for a one in particular, or at least acting like it.

Nathan looked at the plush carpet and nodded his head a little. He had figured as much. "Jareth told me to have you ready to go before dinner," he said, even softer than before. "He said you would know what he meant."

Slowly, she leaned forward until her forehead touched the books in front of her. Her shoulders shook. She didn't bother trying to hide her tears, not ashamed to show them in front of Nathan. He moved forward and hesitated for only a moment before he rubbed her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting fashion. "I'll come back," she said, and repeated it over and over and over.


	23. Combination

The sun was setting as Nathan led her out of the castle and into the front courtyard, where Abernathy and Hoggle were waiting. Sarah stopped at the top of the steps and looked around the gardens, expecting to see Jareth wandering around somewhere. He wouldn't let her leave without saying goodbye, would he? She felt her eyes begin to burn, and studiously turned back towards the stairs. She walked down the stairs with all the elegance of a seventeenth-century princess, even though she was dressed in the t-shirt and jeans that she had come in. Nathan had stressed the importance of not taking anything of the Underground with her when she left. It would make the magic harder. If it were just her, it was just a matter of putting her back where she came from. If she brought things with her, it would make it harder, in that those things came from here.

She walked up to the circle that Abernathy had created to isolate the spell. She had explained a few days ago that her magic was nowhere near as potent as Jareth's simply because she wasn't in her own land. This was Jareth's land, but he apparently refused to do the spell for her. She bit on the inside of her cheek to try and keep herself from crying again, and it just barely worked. Ruby had shown her that trick. She closed her eyes.

Abernathy asked quietly, "Are you ready?"

"How am I going to get back?" she replied, keeping her eyes closed. They were silent for a moment. She opened her eyes and looked at Abernathy, her eyes watery. "How am I going to get back?" she repeated in the same tone, with just a slight difference in inflection and pronunciation to show that she meant business. Nathan had shown her that trick.

Her eyes shot to Nathan's and he just shrugged. "You can still wish yourself back, Sarah. He can't take that away from you," he told her matter-of-factly. "You may want to wait a few days though, the inter-planar travel and all that."

Sarah's eyes narrowed at him. "You guys don't think I'm coming back either, do you?" she asked, getting angry rather than upset. "Why doesn't anyone believe me?" she asked, tilting her head back in irritation. She shook her head and shoved the emotions away. "Whatever," she grumbled. "Just get me out of here so that I can come back faster." She folded her arms and closed her eyes in anticipation of the gut feeling that came with the traveling between planes, wondering if she would pass out again. Abernathy had said that she probably wouldn't.

After a few minutes of a killer stomachache, Sarah opened an eye to peek, guessing that it had happened but she hadn't felt anything. She was still standing in the dirt courtyard though. She looked up at Abernathy, who seemed to be doing her damnedest to pull the spell off, but it wasn't working. The circle dug into the dirt glowed faintly blue and began to make a deep groaning sound before it disappeared. Sarah didn't. Her eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?" she asked, alarmed.

With her hands on her knees, Abernathy replied first, "I don't know. My magic is strong enough to send you back, even in his land... You should've been long gone by now."

Nathan approached her. "You're not carrying anything from the Underground, right?" he asked suspiciously.

"You told me not to. I'm in the clothes that I wore here. Nothing on me was made here." She put her hands on her hips and scowled as he continued to look her up and down for any possible candidate. "Are you going to frisk me now?" she said flatly.

A dawning expression passed Hoggle's face briefly and then he nodded his head. He sighed. "Perhaps its something in her rather than on her," he hinted.

Abernathy glanced at him. "Food wouldn't make a difference. It all goes through the same digestion process." She looked like she was having a hard time recovering from her attempt at moving Sarah.

"I'm not talking about food."

Sarah caught on first and her head whipped towards Hoggle. "You've got to be shitting me," she said weakly, her throat running dry. Hoggle gave her an apologetic look. "You don't really think... No. It can't be!" She put her hands on her stomach and stared at it. "No, I would've known... I would've been able to tell!" She pulled up her t-shirt for a better view and put a hand over her abdomen, feeling around curiously. "I would've... I would've..." She dropped her t-shirt and smacked herself on the forehead. "I'm such an idiot!" she cried. "Just because he's from another plane of existence doesn't mean he can't get me pregnant!" She stalked away from the circle, leaving Abernathy and Nathan in wonder while Hoggle just slowly shook his head. She continued to vent and rant all the way through the gardens.

Hoggle stopped Nathan before he could go after her. "Leave her alone, lad," he said gruffly. "She's got to come to terms with this."

"Do you think he knows?" Abernathy asked Hoggle.

He shrugged. "I don't know what he knows," he said simply. "It's a possibility that he's thought of it, but if your senses didn't pick it up, his wouldn't have either." He looked at Sarah again as she beat a fist against the gate. "She's supposed to belong in her own world, but the baby would belong in both. You were trying to put things back where they belong, and to do that, you would've had to separate mother from baby. Sarah's inherent magic would've stopped that from happening." He seemed to nod his head to accept this as a plausible answer.

Waggling her fingers, Abernathy cringed. "So she's got stronger magic than I do?" she said, sounding pathetic.

Nathan rolled his eyes, though kept watching Sarah. "This is her land, Abernathy. Jareth called her his Queen. Maybe that means that she belongs here too." He tilted his head and thought about it. "Though Hoggle's answer does make sense too."

"Why is she still here?" Jareth asked coldly from the top of the staircase.

The three of them glanced at each other and silently elected Hoggle as their spokesman. "The spell didn't work, Majesty," he said evenly. Jareth took in how upset she was and his frown deepened. "We believe there is a significant... obstruction."

Jareth's eyes narrowed. "So remove it."

"You don't want that," Abernathy said quickly.

He turned on her, pointing his finger at her chin. "You don't know what I want."

She held up her hands innocently. "I know you don't want to wish away your own child," she said carefully, watching his face for small signs of a negative reaction that she should run from.

Straightening immediately, Jareth stared at nothing for a long moment. He remembered to breathe and then looked at Abernathy sharply. "Are you sure?" he asked firmly.

Shrugging, she replied, "No, but there's not really too many explanations for why the spell won't work. Hoggle's got the best one. I'm trying to put things back where they came from. The baby came from you, here, and Sarah came from her own plane. I can't tear those apart. Sarah won't let me."

The four of them were silent for several minutes. Abernathy, Hoggle, and Nathan stared warily at Jareth for any angry movements. They could all hear Sarah's powerful heartbroken sobs and her protests that it just wasn't fair. Jareth moved suddenly, descending the stairs and moving towards Sarah. Abernathy held Hoggle and Nathan back, saying, "He's not going to hurt her."

"I hope you're right," Nathan mumbled, staring worriedly.

Jareth approached Sarah swiftly. She saw him coming and scrambled to her feet, backing up faster than he could advance. He stopped so quickly that it made his cape flare around his thighs. Sarah met another wall with her back, and stayed against it. Her sobs had lessened, and she was holding her stomach tightly. She had always wanted this, always wanted his children, but not like this. Never like this. His face was stony and cold. She wanted it the way it was in his room on nights when they just talked. The thought elicited another sob that shook her frame.

He advanced on her and she didn't move, just curling into herself and trying to protect her stomach. She shook violently with the effort, and from her tears. He took one arm of hers and tried to pull it free of the other that kept it trapped against her body, crossed tightly. She wrenched it out of his grip. He stripped away his gloves and threw them to the ground at her feet, and bent, pulling her hair out of the way so that he could see her face. He caressed her cheek with his knuckles and kissed her temple softly. "Sarah," he murmured. "Come now, I'm not going to hurt you." He spoke quietly into her ear, coaxing. She listened to him and looked up into his blurry face as he wiped away tears from her face. Slowly, she straightened. She wasn't used to having his actual fingers touch her outside of his bedchamber. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. He ran his hands down the sides of her neck and down her upper arms, over her sides and finally to her hips.

One hand came away from her hip and he brushed his knuckles against the flat flesh just beneath her navel. "I want it, Jareth," she said brokenly. "I want it so badly that it hurts."

"Shh, shh..." he kissed her again and wrapped his arms around her. "Shh... I want it too." He rocked himself back and forth to calm her down. "Calm down now, Sarah. Nothing is wrong. All of this stress isn't good for you." He spoke calmly into her ear, and the tone made her shaking slowly stop. She unfurled her arms from over her breasts and she wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself close. "Everything will be fine, Sarah. I promise." He kissed the top of her head and ran his hand through her hair.

* * *

:D


	24. Remodeling

Job cash car + gasoline - cash.

I'm not going to be here this weekend! I'll be lucky if I get a chapter up tomorrow. I've got another AP test, more paperwork at my new job, and tomorrow night, I'm going car shopping with my Dad. Friday night is a maybe because I'm going to bed super early because I have to be up around 5:45 and out of the door by 6 AM to go to my Camp Oakes training. I'm super-excited for it though, so I don't mind the early-as-hell shiznits.

Oh, and I'm beginning to devise my next Labyrinth fic. :) I have a policy against sequels, but there's going to be another fic made by me for Labyrinth... Most likely an AU. Opinions?

* * *

Abernathy, Nathan, and Hoggle were waiting in his greeting room for some kind of news, each of them looking variably nervous and worried. There had been a lot of angry screaming and a few crashes of glass against the wall as they argued, and then they had gone quiet, and then silent. It had been silent for nearly twenty minutes. Jareth emerged cautiously, closing the door to his bedchamber behind him. "She's sleeping now," he said quietly.

She made a valiant attempt not to smile. Grandchildren were the dream of every mother whose children were all grown. To hide her excitement, she asked, "Did you two decide on a course of action?" and cleared her throat.

He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "She wants to keep it, but she's having trouble coping with the fact that, if she does, she'll never be able to go back." He folded his arms over his chest uneasily.

Hoggle frowned. "Well, once the child is born, she could return."

Nathan snorted. "Not only will the pregnancy take weeks of her plane's time, but she wouldn't leave her child behind. She's not that kind of person. You should know that, Hoggle." He folded his arms and mirrored Jareth's position. He looked at Jareth then. "What do you want to do?" he asked pointedly.

Sighing, he replied, "I'm not sure. I told her that she could return after having the baby, that I would care for it and she wouldn't have to worry about it ever again." Nathan snorted again and rolled his eyes. Jareth glared at him and continued, "But that didn't go over very well. So I told her to take a nap and calm down, sleep off the stress, and we would discuss it later... and now she sleeps." He crossed the room and sank into a chair by the balcony. "I don't want to do this." Closing his eyes, he doubled over and buried his face in his hands.

His mother ushered Hoggle and Nathan out of the room, and then sat beside her son. She rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "You can handle this, Jareth. I know you can..."

"I'm not ready for this. Sarah isn't ready for this. We can't start a family, we're not married... we're not even betrothed. It's completely immoral. He'll be a bastard child! What will everyone think?" He lifted his head and shot a pained look at his mother.

She scowled. "Who cares? Marry her before she begins to show and no one will bother to do the math. Even so, the child is still biologically yours, and no one can question that. Your first biological child through marriage is your heir, if you haven't already given the title to another child. You don't have to name an heir unless you're in a time of war anyways. If all of the children are still too young, Sarah is capable of handling everything." She smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry so much, Jareth. Everything will work out."

Jareth shook his head. "She won't stay," he protested weakly.

She cut in, "You don't know anything, Jareth. She won't abandon her child, that much can be sure. Right now, you should go and sleep with your lover, spend some time with her, and relax. Give her time to process the new information and make a decision. Everything will work out eventually." She kissed his head.

The door to the bedchamber opened.. A very bedraggled Sarah emerged. "I have an idea," she said softly and came to sit on the other side of Jareth. "You can still change the course of events in my plane, right?" he nodded. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I wish my car would be found in the mountains in a ditch. I wish the news story would say that a drunk driver ran me off of the road two days ago, and I died on impact, but my body was never found, that scratches on the car could indicate that it was scavenged by animals. Be creative with the article."

Abernathy and Jareth stared at her. "Are you sure?" she asked. "That can't be reversed." She leaned forward to see Sarah's face.

"I'm sure," she said. "I can't leave here now. This will at least give my friends and family some closure." She put her head on his shoulder. "Do it."

He swallowed thickly and said, "As you wish." weakly, and it was done. Sarah cried. Jareth frowned and lifted her up beneath the knees, carrying her into his bedchamber again. He laid her on the bed and stayed with her this time, letting her cling to his frame and wet his shirt with her tears. He cooed at her, but knew that there was nothing that he could really say. Now, all of her friends and family would believe that she was dead, and she could never go back without causing a lot of problems and confusion.

* * *

Several days later, Sarah had thrown herself into the planning of the holiday ball, and her newest project of building and decorating a nursery. This was her way of coping, and everyone walked on eggshells around her because they knew it. Jareth had made it very clear that no one was to question if she was working too hard except for him. He was overly-attentive to her now, making short trips into the Labyrinth between meals rather than going for the whole day and returning at sunset. The library tables continued to be meticulously organized, and now there was a new stack of papers in Jareth's greeting room, where she worked on the nursery. If she wasn't in the library or the greeting room, she was wandering around the castle, looking for a good room in which to place the nursery. She'd decided a few days ago to make it close to Jareth's chambers for obvious reasons, and had continued looking up and down the hallway for which room she could morph into a baby's room the easiest, which one she would be most comfortable with using.

She had asked Jareth to fetch a few items that her parents wouldn't miss from her room, things that she had always wanted to pass down to her children. He had taken a trip into her basement room and found it exactly as she had left it. Her parents hadn't touched it. However, Toby was asleep on the couch. Pausing to check for signs of stirring, he moved towards the corner of the room that held multiple boxes. He was quiet as he sifted through the box that she had signified and found the blanket that had been Sarah's as an infant. He picked up several manuscripts that she still wanted to work on. He picked up a few scatter-brained notebooks. Finally, he looked around for the teddy bear that she had demanded.

After looking everywhere, he eventually found it in Toby's crushing grip. He smiled in a bittersweet way and decided that that would be missed. He left with his goods and brought it all back to Sarah who had been waiting impatiently. She looked delightedly through the manuscripts and notebooks, and rubbed her cheek against the fabric of the blanket. "Where's Lancelot?" she asked hopefully.

"The bear?" Jareth clarified. Sarah nodded and scowled, thinking that he had forgotten. He shook his head, taking one of her hands and tracing his fingers across her palm absentmindedly. "Your brother was sleeping on the couch, Sarah. He wouldn't let it go." He looked up at her, hoping for a fair reaction.

Sarah went quiet, withdrawing her hand and hugged the blanket. She chewed on her lip and nodded her head. "I guess that's for the best," she said weakly. Jareth saw the tears building up in her eyes, but Sarah refused to acknowledge them and so he wouldn't either. She swiped at her face and then smiled at him. "Thank you, Jareth," she said brightly. He smiled at her and kissed her gently, glad to see her smiling again. Her look suddenly brightened. "While you were gone, guess what I decided!" she said delightedly.

Deciding to humor her, he asked, "What?"

"Come and see!" she juggled all of her things into one arm and took his hand, running towards the castle and dragging him with her like a pair of school children. He went along with her all the way up to the hallway that led up to what had become their room. She surpassed his bedroom, though did stop momentarily to drop her things on the long table between doors. The first door to the direct right of their bedroom was open and had sounds of goblins at work. He became suspicious, but relaxed as she stopped in the doorway. She grinned up at him, watching his face with rapt attention for his response.

Two walls and a half of another had been painted an ambiguous blue-violet color that could go either way between boy or girl, with goblins still working on the other one and a half walls. They all stopped and turned around to see their King's reaction, since all of them had been apprehensive on Sarah's insistence. The vaulted ceiling was being painted as well, a few shades darker than the walls, though Jareth could only guess why. He took in the color carefully. If it were a boy, it could be passed off as blue, and if it were a girl, it could be passed off as purple. It was a decidedly in-between color, more so than yellow. He despised yellow and had made that clear to Sarah.

At last, he smiled. He didn't like the fact that she had gone and done it without him, but he supposed that it was for the best. Sarah had said something about pregnant mothers having the tendency to "nest", or create something for their babies in advance to prepare themselves, emotionally. He supposed he should let her do it, even if she had suggested that he join in. He still thought it was way too early to start on a nursery, but she insisted that it gave her something else to do until the ball. He thought it would be something to do after the ball, but again, was leaving her the hell alone about it. He remembered his mother's last pregnancy. She had gone insane, and his father had sat and taken it like a man for lack of anything else to do. You simply don't mess with a pregnant woman.

A large grin broke onto her face upon seeing him smile, and she said, "Look how dark the ceiling is! I'm going to have them paint a moon and stars on it, like the night sky. It's going to be so pretty." She squeezed his arm happily. "I'm looking into ordering some furniture as well. If I do it soon, it should arrive in a few months, once they have the time to make everything." There was still a novelty effect for Sarah about everything being handmade in the Underground. There were no factories or assembly lines. There were specialists and tradesmen instead. She liked the idea.

Jareth listened to her babble on about carpeting, furniture, paint, and décor for another few moments. He eyed the room and could imagine what she was trying to accomplish with it, and he smiled again. Suddenly, he turned and kissed her. She was immediately silenced and she gleefully wrapped her arms around him. He pulled away and left her speechless. He reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a cube-shaped object. He felt it in his hand for a moment before he opened it with one hand and presented it to Sarah. Her hands shot to her mouth and she gasped, staring at the box and its contents.

From watching which jewelry she chose to wear from day to day, which pieces she did and didn't like, Jareth had deducted her taste and preference as it accorded to rings. He had perused several shops and ring-makers, as well as his mother's collection of his female ancestry's jewelry for a week or so now, and had finally chosen one. He had been waiting for the opportune moment, knowing that it would eventually present itself, and it had. As she stared, he remembered that the custom in her world was for the man to kneel. He glanced at the goblins that were standing around him, worrying about his pride for only a moment, before he knelt before Sarah on one knee. He smirked up at her. "Sarah, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Letting out a high-pitched squeal, Sarah jumped on Jareth and accidentally knocked him to the ground. She laughed and managed to kiss him. Jareth, though rather unhappy with his new position on the floor, managed to smile at her and kiss her in return. He managed to remove the ring from its prison in the box and found her left hand. She sat up just to one side of him and smiled as he slipped it on. It fit her perfectly, and Sarah attributed it to magic like most things in the Underground. She looked at it and turned her hand this way and that so that it shone in the light.

One silver band split into two with three diamonds graduating to a larger size the closer it got to the center, where there were four teardrop-shaped sapphires arranged into what appeared to be a flower, with extra silver on the outside tips of each square to create more of a petal shape. "It's beautiful, Jareth," she breathed. Jareth had made himself comfortable on the chair, watching her view the ring, and smiled up at her, folding one arm behind his head. Sarah laughed. "Now I have another thing to work on," she said delightedly.

* * *

That's the ring I want, switching the sapphires for rubies. Red's my color, blue is Sarah's. I currently have a promise ring, but I have the picture cut out from the magazine of it and everything. I'll think about scanning it in... :)


	25. Ballin'

Sorry this took me so long. :(

I've been super-busy, super-stressed, and super-irritable lately, and haven't had any time to get any writing done. If I hadn't already had this chapter mostly written down in my notebook, you probably wouldn't be seeing anything from me for another week or three. You see, I've got 13 school days before I graduate, and my grades are the hugest factor in all of it, in that, if I fail even a single class, I will not graduate high school. This is why I tell all my freshmen friends not to fuck around too much, because it's biting me in the ass right now. So I've been busting my ass on extra credit and making my final projects look amazing, because I'm going to need every single last point.

Add into the mix that I've taken on being a team captain for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, which puts me in charge of a dozen teenagers who can't keep track of paperwork, requires team meetings, and sacrifices an entire weekend's worth of work, AND a dwindling social life that I'm trying to keep a hold of AND a horrible relationship with my mom that doesn't look like it's getting any better, and I'm pretty much exhausted. I've gotten full nights of sleep for the past few days, from 10 PM - 6:30 AM, and I'm still tired and yawning in the morning, and all day long. I now have three hours in which to work on finals before I'm going to bed, and still, most of that time won't really be spent on finals because my psychotic teachers want most of the work done in class. Right. Thank you.

The good news? My cast is off! My ankle is stiff and weak, but I can still walk, and it's not broken. And I can take showers now rather than baths. I hate baths, so you can imagine my dismay...

Don't know when the next chapter will be posted, especially since my imagination has gotten the summer itchies and I've gotten a hold of several old ideas that I can now totally run with... I think I'll be able to finish this, but at the moment, don't expect another chapter for at least a week. Sorry!

* * *

Sarah had recovered from the despair of losing her family before the ball. Jareth claimed that it was because she was so damned busy. She was planning the holiday ball, with the wedding coming in second, and the baby's room as a third. Three months later, she still wasn't showing her pregnancy, but Jareth and the others had been sheltering her already, especially the day of the ball. Almost every guest was suspicious within hours of their arrival at the castle. Finally, Sarah pulled Jareth aside and told him, "If you don't stop babying me, everyone is going to find out. A baby is considered a weakness, isn't it?" She tilted her head at him.

He laughed. "You sound so much like me now," he replied, and kissed her to make her angry look go away. "My excuse is that you have fragile health and have been under a lot of stress lately. It's a sympathy ploy. It may only work on wives, but you know what kind of effect they can have on their husbands." He grinned at her, and she couldn't help but to smile back. He kissed her forehead. "And besides, my precious thing, children are so invaluable to the Underground that most people never dream of harming them." He wrapped his arms around her happily. He had been ecstatic that the only things that he had to do for the ball were approving Sarah's decisions and making a pleasant appearance.

"It's that other group I'm worried about," she mumbled, pressing herself against him. She was dressed in a costume that reminded her of when her mother played Maid Marian in a play about Robin Hood. She pushed away the thought, and inhaled Jareth's scent. She blinked and pulled away to scowl at him. "Why aren't you in your costume?" she demanded.

He held his hands up innocently and replied, "The ball doesn't start for over an hour." He sounded like a protesting child.

An hour later, Sarah stood on Jareth's left side, allowing him to shake hands with the men with his right hand and allowing herself to greet the women with a kiss on the left cheek, the men kissing the back of her left hand. Jareth introduced her as, "My fiancée, Sarah." She noticed the younger, unmarried daughters eying her with distaste as they approached them and while Jareth wasn't looking, but smiling politely as they were greeted.

She tugged on Jareth's arm in between a few of them. He leaned down to off her his ear. "Some of the girls seem jealous of me," she said worriedly.

He nodded and replied, "I know. I'm not surprised... I used to be quite the bachelor." He greeted a new family that was entering. As they walked away, he told her, "Don't accept any food or drink that I don't fetch and hand you myself." She looked up at him, alarmed. He didn't look at her. She chased away the unease and greeted the next group.

After staying attached to Jareth's hip for most of the night, socializing, eating, and dancing, Sarah was getting irritated. She enjoyed herself for the most part, but she had declined several dances with other men due to Jareth's warning and jealousy, and it was bothering her. Perhaps she could make a better impression by dancing and being genial. She thought she was being rude, especially because she danced with Nathan once or twice. Abernathy wasn't happy because her husband, the High King, was nowhere to be found. He was running late, supposedly. Sarah wasn't complaining, she was in no hurry to meet Jareth's father.

As Jareth planted another kiss on her temple, she excused herself from his presence for a breath of fresh air on the outdoor balcony. She had placed chairs outside for that reason, and they were being used thoroughly. She found an empty one and sat down heavily, wishing that she could remove her bodice so that she could breathe. It wasn't nearly as tight as it had been before they discovered that she was pregnant, but it was still tight compared to the t-shirts she was used to in her own world.

She hadn't been there for very long before a small group of girls descended upon her. They sat on either side of her and stood in front of her, blocking all exits and looking jealous and angry with her. She sighed and said, "I don't suppose you're here to congratulate me on my engagement?" sarcastically.

They weren't. The two on either side grabbed her by her arms and heaved her upward. Sarah scratched, kicked and fought, but it was a short walk to the edge of the balcony, where they tossed her over with inhuman strength. She had just enough time to scream, "Jareth!"

Fortunately, she was caught by someone on the front steps of the ballroom. He set her gently to her feet as she began a long-winded apology, brushing herself off. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to -."

The man laughed and said lightly, "A bit early in the night to be jumping from balconies, isn't it?"

"I'm so sorry," she said again.

Jareth, who had come running at the sound of her scream, swung her into his arms. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did you fall? What happened?"

She leaned into him and shook her head, greedily taking comfort from his presence. "I'm fine. They threw me, but he caught me." She gestured towards the man, who had been waiting patiently. It suddenly occurred to her that he was wearing a crown. The only other person besides Jareth who was allowed to wear a crown, according to etiquette, was the High King.

"Father!" Jareth said delightedly, his eyes brightening. "Mother was furious that you hadn't been on time." Flabbergasted, Sarah stood straighter. Her cheeks burned a bright magenta color. Jareth turned towards her with an encouraging smile. His hand slipped around her lower back comfortingly and he said proudly, "Father, this is my fiancé, Sarah. Sarah, this is my father, King Zeker."

For a moment, she had to search her memory for the appropriate way to greet a King. Specifically, the High King of the Underground and the only person that her future husband answered to. She settled on a muted curtsy, going for respect and humility. Jareth's hand tightened on her back and she straightened quickly to see what she had done wrong.

The High King and Jareth were both laughing at her with teasing looks in their eyes. She scowled. "What? What did I do wrong?" she asked indignantly.

"I should have specifically prepared you, Sarah, I apologize," Jareth said and kissed her temple softly. The High King took her hand and laid a soft kiss upon her knuckles. "Regardless of his being the High King of the Underground, he is currently a guest in my land, where my lady has more power and demands more respect," Jareth explained in her ear. He bit it lightly and his father pulled away as if he had sensed it. Sarah shivered.

She recovered well though and told Zeker, "I'm sorry. I'm new at all of this political etiquette stuff." She frowned, embarrassed by her faux pas.

The High King shrugged his shoulders and replied, "It's all very confusing, I know. I still have to make sure my queen behaves herself... She hasn't caused any trouble yet, has she?" he asked suspiciously.

Jareth shook his head. "No, she's been a help to both Sarah and myself. She may have been around the wine tonight though," he murmured, and looked around for a sign of her. A thought struck him and looked down at his father, "What do I have you standing outside for? Come inside, enjoy yourself." He led the way, placing his arm around Sarah's. He leaned into her and asked, "Can you point out the girls that threw you?" He kept his face and body language pleasant, but his voice was murderous.

She scowled. "They're just jealous, Jareth," she protested.

Growling, he replied, "They endangered your life and subsequently the life of our child, Sarah. I will not tolerate it." He stopped and pointed out his mother to his father, who was receiving multiple bows, greetings, and respects.

"It will blow over. We're not going to see them again for awhile, and by then, they'll give up." She put her arms around him as if to contain his anger.

He snapped at her, "No! They will not give up because if you are dead, I will be eligible again, regardless of children. I must make it clear right now that you are not to be fooled with." He folded his arms around her. "You must understand, Sarah, love. I could tattle on them to their respective parents or guardians, but they would like their daughters to be queen as much as they would like to be queen themselves, and they would not be disciplined. I have to do something about this. I don't want to lose you, Sarah." He kissed her done-up hair. "I wouldn't be able to stand it. Not again."

Sarah understood. "Don't kill them," she said sternly, as her only condition.

Grinning, he replied, "Oh, I won't. I have a much better plan. Just point them out, won't you?" Sarah did. Jareth waved in a few guards and whispered their instructions to them. Sarah watched as each girl was escorted civilly out of the party. He turned to her and said, "Now I will leave you with two women I actually trust." He led her further into the ballroom, and approached a pair o girls who looked exactly identical, down to the freckles on their faces. "Sarah, this is Tabitha and Ophelia. They're my nieces, so you needn't worry about jealous rages." he turned to the girls and said, "Girls, this is my fiancée, Sarah. Keep an eye on her while I attend to some business, won't you?"

They answered together, "Of course!" The chime of their voices at once made somewhat of an echo. It was eerie. At least they didn't dress to match, though they could probably trade clothing.

Jareth gave her a tender kiss and said, "I'll be back before you miss me." He squeezed her shoulders.

"I always miss you the moment you're gone," she told him.

He laughed and said, "I love you," quietly before he turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

Sarah turned towards the twins with a smile that was brighter than she felt. "So," she said happily, "where are you from?"


	26. Dark Wishes

:O A chapter! By gum!

Things have begun to slow down around my house. My cousin moved in and she's got two kids, so now I have the little sisters I always wanted. Yay! I'm done with the Relay for Life (we raised 168,000 for the American Cancer Society altogether), and I'm in the last stretches of school now, and even though the assignments are picking up a little for just this last week. Graduating on the 12th... Might have a chapter up that next Monday, unless I'm super not-busy this weekend, which is also possible. :) But hey, I realized that I had this one mostly written and only had to write a paragraph on it. I felt so bad that I had it mostly done and hadn't posted it yet. :( I'm sorry.

But here it is!

And now I've gotta go pick up the monsters. Wish me luck. :)

* * *

Jareth entered a plain, undecorated room that had six girls inside. There were plenty of torture devices that he was entertaining the thought of using in his head, but he knew better. Harming them physically could potentially start a war. He stared down the silent girls calmly and crossed the room between them to a bureau at the other end. He went through a few drawers before he removed a clear flask of a foul-colored liquid. He turned to the girls again, and smiled. "Ladies," he began, "earlier this evening, you threw my fiancée, Sarah, from the balcony. I'm sure you intended to kill her, and I just can't let that go. If I do, you might think you could do it again. Since you're the first to try, I'm going to make examples of you." He held up the bottle so that they could see and said, "This is from the Bog of Eternal Stench. I thought about just throwing you into it headfirst, but that would be cruel. So instead, I'm just going to use this." He smiled viciously. "When burned from clothing, the Stench can be removed, but there is no remedy for its contact with skin. How many of you are immortal?" he asked curiously. Four out of the six raised their hands. "Ah, well. You'll learn to live with it." As he took a step forward, the girls began to panic.

One came forward on her knees, bawling. "No, Jareth! Please don't! Not the Eternal Stench! Anything but that!"

"Your other option is a knife!" he roared. "Sarah only asked me not to kill you, she said nothing about maiming or disfiguring!" The girl skittered away as he drew a knife from his belt. Another screamed for help. He brandished it angrily and bared his teeth. Seeing fear and panic on their faces of those who had wronged him had once brought him joy. Now it only made him feel guilty. He let out a frustrated yell that elicited another screech from the girls. He threw down the knife and ran his hand through his hair. He placed the bottle of Bog Stench on the top of the bureau where he originally found it and turned towards them. "Silence," he snapped. "I'm not going to do anything." He turned away from them.

A girl scrambled forward in the knife's direction, but Jareth had it pressed against her throat before she got very far. She froze, her eyes wide. She wasn't sure how loyal he was to his fiancée's word. He spoke harshly into her face, "The fact that I don't plan on hurting you today does not mean that I won't," he threatened. She trembled. "I wouldn't get convicted for killing you all, no matter how gruesome and malicious I do it. But I won't, because she asked me not to. That's how much she means to me. Do you nitwits understand? I would lay down my immortality, my magic, and my kingdom, if she asked me to, because I love her that much. Now, are you capable of comprehending that and allowing me to be happy or will you selfish twits like to try your luck with a silver blade or the Eternal Stench?"

The girl with the knife against her throat said, "I'm disappointed in your weakness in allowing yourself to fall in love with a mortal. I'm angry that she's a mortal. But even if we understand and remove ourselves, Majesty, there will be others out to kill her, right until the day that she's your wife and queen, perhaps even after, regardless of her position."

"I will not remarry," he said flatly.

She shrugged her shoulders carefully. "Regardless, there are those who are very self-confident. How much are you willing to risk, Jareth?" she smiled at him disarmingly.

Jareth's eyes narrowed and he pressed the blade tighter against her throat. "You have no station to call me by my given name, nor do you have my permission," he growled.

Bowing her head, she replied, "My apologies, Sire. My question remains – how much are you willing to risk?"

He smirked. "I am not the one with a knife to my throat, girl. How much are _you_ willing to risk?"

She gave him a flat stare. "Personally, Sire, I don't give a damn who you marry. I only care about who I marry, and that girl just so happens to be marrying the one who I wanted in the first place. It's not fair."

Laughing, he pulled away and moved out of reach with a few quick steps. "What's your basis of comparison? You're lucky you're a noble. If you were a peasant, your parents would choose your groom for you, or worse, you may be bought by a collector. You get to have a say in who you marry, and that is a great freedom, but it is also a freedom that I have. And believe me when I say that I would never marry any of you standing before me, for the simple reason that you are willing to kill a woman for marrying the man that you want, for being in love and happy." He put the knife in his belt and put his hands on his hips. "Sarah has enough compassion to not wish you here harm, when you tried to execute her. That is why I love her. That is why none of you even stand a chance beside her, because you were raised in an environment that encouraged the idea of ruthlessly fighting for what you want, because that's obviously the only way to get it. Marry for love, not for station. You won't be happy just being rich and powerful, trust me."

He paced back and forth, coming up with an appropriate punishment for them. "All of you will be expelled from the ball and given an escort back to your own land. Now." They began to whine and protest, but he stomped his heel against the floor, making a loud thump. They silenced immediately. "Guards will return shortly to escort you out. At the most, you'll be allowed to wait for your cohorts before being forced to leave." He gave them a sickly-sweet smile. "Thank you for attending. I do hope you can make the wedding." They stared at him with frightened eyes.

As the door closed behind him, one of them commented dryly, "I wonder if she knows what she's getting herself into." Jareth laughed.

* * *

:O Scary Jareth!


	27. Darker Wishes

:D HI.

So I got a job now, but have recently gotten back into the writing groove... May do some in the morning before work tomorrow, or at the very least this weekend. My boyfriend/fiance is going to be in Bakersfield, so I'll pretty much have nothing to do. (Sad, ain't it?)

Soundtrack for this chapter: I Get Knocked Down by Chumbawumba, Golden Years by David Bowie, and Pump Up the Volume by the Tubes.

You're welcome.

* * *

Jareth moved swiftly back towards the main hall. He paused as he felt a familiar buzz in the back of his head, and heard a child shout, "I wish the goblins would come and take you away – right now!" He felt his stomach kick, and his eyes widened. He knew that voice, that extra punch of stubborn will and typical childlike disdain for the unfairness of the world. He sent a short message to Nathan before hastening towards the main hall once more.

Sarah waited impatiently for Jareth to return. Tabitha and Ophelia were nice enough, but they were terribly chatty and wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise. She smiled and nodded, added in "Hmm"s and "Oh!"s where necessary. Her manners were impeccable, and she seemed to be completely consumed in the conversation, when in fact she let her ears wander. No one was daft enough to talk about her when she was right there, even if it looked like she wasn't paying attention. However, some made indirect comments, mostly about her style of dress. A few tried to defend her, saying that she hadn't been in court long and that Jareth hadn't been in court for longer, so of course she wouldn't be up on fashion. Giving a small frown, she looked down at her dress. She thought it was gorgeous.

Ophelia paused in her story about a particularly funny suitor and stared at her. "Sarah?" she prompted.

Her eyes snapped back up to Jareth's cousin and she smiled. "I can't imagine being courted like that," she said in good-humor, hoping that her comment was vague enough to be acceptable. Ophelia and Tabitha shared a glance, but then both laughed agreeably. The conversation continued amiably until Jareth came for her, grabbing her by the arm and excusing her shortly from his cousins. She thanked Tabitha and Ophelia for entertaining her over her shoulder, and turned to scold Jareth for being so brash. Her words died in her throat as she saw the grim look on his face.

As soon as Jareth was sure that she wasn't going to argue with him, for once, Jareth loosed his grip on her arm and instead placed a possessive, leading hand on the small of her back. He nudged her lightly with his fingers to direct her into the proper hallways. Finally, he thrust open the doors of a room that Nathan hadn't included on the tour, and Jareth had never brought her. Though her curiosity often got the better of her, she decided that if she hadn't been shown to it yet, she wasn't supposed to go in. Jareth bringing her to this room made her nervous.

"Jareth," she said hesitantly, peering into the pitch black of the room.

The hand on her back became more insistent, almost pushing her forward into the darkness. Jareth's hand left her and she heard his footsteps drawing him away as he pulled the curtains away from a high window, casting moonlight upon a pool in the center of the room. "Look," he said, waving a hand at the pool.

She hadn't looked at it yet because she was still nervous about the deep shadows in the rest of the room. She wished he would light a torch or something. Casting a few more worried glances at him, still prone near the curtain pull, she looked into the pool.

It looked like one of the pictures that only some people could see things in, where all of the colors mesh together until you turn your head just right to see what lie within. The colors danced uneasily like gnats, and at first, Sarah saw nothing. Jareth saw her confused expression, and he told her, "Look harder." She frowned and concentrated on making sense of the colors.

Finally, she gasped and brought a hand to her collar. Sylvie lay in the greeting hall of the castle, where she had long ago glimpsed Toby. She looked up at Jareth, trying to understand why this was happening. With sharp steps, he came to stand alongside her and he touched the water, bringing forth a new image. Now that she was used to the odd pool, it was easier to see this new scene. Toby was stuck babysitting after Sarah's 'death', and Sylvie was wailing in her room about playing with her dolls, saying that Sarah would play with her.

Toby stormed into the room, throwing the doll from Sylvie's hand angrily. He had tears in his eyes, and shouted, "Don't talk about her!" He went back to his room and grabbed one of Sarah's books. She put a hand over her mouth, being able to figure it out from there. He seemed to calm down as he read, and then an idea sprung to his mind. He went back to Sylvie's room, where she had cried herself to sleep. Cautiously, as if unsure it would work, he said, "I wish the goblins would come and take you away..." He looked down at the book. As if he was reminded, he added, "right now." For a moment, he watched her from the doorway, but then he closed the door behind him, disappointed that the magic wouldn't work in front of him.

Stepping away from the pool, Sarah put a hand over her face. "Oh no, Toby, why did you... Damn it." She looked back at the pool. "What are you going to do?" she demanded of Jareth.

"What's said is said," Jareth said darkly. She glared at him. He held his hands up. "I cannot change the magic, Sarah, it is beyond me. My job is to take care of the children who stay here, who are really unwanted. Once he realizes she's gone, he may yet want to tackle the labyrinth, and I will give him that chance – but you may not interfere." At the look on her face, he thought that it may have been a good idea to not tell her about this at all. She was upset.

After slapping him soundly, Sarah shouted at him, "How dare you! Hoggle helped me!"

Jareth shook his head. "No, Hoggle got you into more trouble than he was worth. The consequences far outweigh the help, believe me. Besides, if given the chance, you'd lead him straight here. If he'd accept your help at all, that is." He turned to walk away. "You may not help him." He felt an odd tug at his heartstrings as he left her in the room to cry. He was just doing his job. He could not change the rules, for he had not made them.

Nathan stood outside, his face passive as Jareth emerged. "The goblins have been dispatched, and the girl is safe in the greeting hall. What are we to do with her?" he asked softly.

After a thoughtful pause, Jareth told him, "Once Sarah is done, take her to Sylvie. She'll know what to do." He was confident in that much. "As soon as it becomes apparent in her world that she is gone, notify me, and I will give the boy the chance to enter the labyrinth." Nathan nodded once. "I'm going to do some last-minute retouches, tell Sarah I will see her at lunch tomorrow." Again, Nathan nodded, and they went their separate directions.


End file.
